I Am Trying To Locate A Few Widows Mites For A Few Folks

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Originally posted by grovey
I checked ebay and didn't like what I saw.

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That's about par for the course with these coins; they're often not in the best condition. And of course, most sellers flog the "widow's mite" biblical connection for all it's worth.

The coins normally classed as the "widows mite" are the tiny bronzes (called a "half prutah" in the 1998 edition of the Sear catalogue of Greek coins) of the Hasmonaean king Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BC, Sear #6092). They apparently dig these things up by the bucketful over in Israel, so they're not "rare" in any normal sense. CV in Sear for typical specimens is £8. The more of the legend you can actually read, the more valuable the coin is to numismatists. Specimens on which both the Greek and Hebrew inscriptions are fully legible can be worth much more than this.

These are extremely difficult to find in very nice condition without spending at least $50 each. Below is my example (from the Gallery). Actually, mine appears to be a Prutah struck on a Lepton planchet, but it's the same size and appearance as most Widow's Mites.

I would suggest checking out Forvm Ancient Coins. There is a section there where they sell coins. I purchased a book from there and was very happy with the transaction. They are very knowledgable and helpful there.