As I have mentioned in other Blog Posts, I have decided to collect Ancient Coins and more specifically, I have decided to begin by collecting coins that are discussed in the Bible.  I just finished reading a book that I found helpful called Coins of the Bible by Arthur Friedberg. 

This book contains replica coins from Biblical times so that you can easily identify the coins that you will be collecting for your personal collection.  This will be a 6 coin collection and will include the: Widow's Mite, Gold Daric, Lepton, Tribute Penny, Shekel, and Half-Shekel. Even more interesting is that the author helps you to see just how each coin reflects the politics of the time. 

This is a relatively easy read, it would take many hundreds of pages, far more than in this book, to present a comprehensive catalog of the coinage during this time in history, however, this book is a collection of concise but detailed information about the money specifically of biblical times, consisting mostly of those coins that would be most significant in the eyes of the Christian reader.  What is further interesting is that you learn the stories behind some of the most famous coins of the Bible from the Widow's Mite to the infamous thirty pieces of silver. You discover the historical and cultural details of the lives and times of the ancient peoples of Biblical days.

 If you are interested in learning about Ancient Coins from this particular era, then I would recommend reading this book.  This is a great introduction to Ancient Coins and a relatively easy collection to put together.  The Widow's Mite, Lepton, Shekel, and Half-Shekel is relatively inexpensive, while the Gold Daric and Tribute Penny are pricey, depending on their condition, but, it certainly is fun to think that you have a collection of coins that circulated about 2,000 years ago and may have been held by Jesus or his disciples.   Enjoy!