Is This A Biblical Widow Mite? (Likely Judean Prutah)

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 2,183
Clatx New Member United States 1 Posts	Posted 10/02/2018 9:04 pm I am really new to buying coins. I purchased 100 of these coins for a church fundraiser so the kids can go on a mission trip. Is this a biblical widow mite? I hope it is real because this will be a costly and very embarrassing lesson for me. I wish I had known about this place sooner. The seller seems very professional. Thank you for any help you can offer. Report this Post to the Staff

Crazyb0 Rest in Peace 10197 Posts	Posted 10/02/2018 9:23 pm Can't tell from your pix, look under "Prutah" in the period around 6BC and earlier. MANY of these are tourist scrap, get them on Tours of the Holy Lands by the boatfuls. You have to be able to fully ID, by design, weight and size to be sure if they are real or not. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/judee-1.html Report this Post to the Staff
TNG Bedrock of the Community United States 10284 Posts	Posted 10/02/2018 10:35 pm Do they resemble this. Your top one has a dot there that looks like the center of the spoked wheel. other side Report this Post to the Staff
spru Bedrock of the Community United States 12477 Posts	Posted 10/03/2018 01:45 am Clatx! Much clearer pics will be needed to determine what you may have. However, true ancient Widow's Mites (lepton or prutah?) are not exactly rare, so I wouldn't expect a high price for a bunch of them. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020 In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020 In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024 Report this Post to the Staff
John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 10/03/2018 05:18 am Going to need much better photos. In focus and cropped. Click on preview before posting,and make changes at that point. The better the pics, the better we can help you. John1 Report this Post to the Staff
Pistareen Valued Member United States 309 Posts	Posted 10/03/2018 07:17 am Look for a "wheel of eight spokes" with dot hub on one side and an anchor shaped somewhat like a tulip on the other. Clear and well centered ones used to go for about $20, with offcenter, indifferently struck pieces worth about $10 each. Those with severe environmental damage go for a fraction of these prices, and harshly cleaned, damaged, off center examples such as the one pictured, which still retain the mystique of Biblical antiquity, so long as they are identifiable ought to be worth a couple of dollars each. In large quantity expect a volume discountt. If you bought the lot for a fair price and put together a nice card with an explanation of what they represent, you could do OK in a church fund raiser. You are promoting hands on history, more so than numismatics. Think of them as archeological relics from about 200 BC, that we're mentioned in the Bible, and could be the very ones the Widow donated. I think a Stewardship campaign could be crafted from these "seeds" that could raise more funds than selling them outright. Good Luck! Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16826 Posts	Posted 10/03/2018 8:30 pm It doesn't look like the typical mass-produced fake Widow's Mites we see so very often here on the forum - they look like these, which can also be bought in bulk from church supplies stores. Genuine Widow's Mites are very common, and in poor condition (such as yours) should be able to be bought in bulk quantities. Many of these coins are found in Israel and surrounding territories, often in large hoards. Israel does have controls on the sale of antiquities, but they are not banned outright as they are in some other countries (such as Greece). Poor condition coins such as this should be exportable from Israel with minimal difficulty by people with the appropriate licenses and permits, so you should not have to worry about your coins having been illegally looted and/or smuggled out of their country of origin. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
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