The Widow's Mite (Alexander Yannai) Bronze Prutah

Following the miraculous victory of the Maccabees celebrated at Hanukkah, the Hasmonean Dynasty established sovereign Jewish rule over Judea. Decades later, King Alexander Jannaeus expanded the kingdom’s borders to the Mediterranean coast, creating a thriving maritime and regional economy. To support this commerce, Jannaeus minted large quantities of bronze prutot—the baseline monetary unit recognized in Jewish law. Striking his coinage with the title "King" alongside his Hebrew name, he deliberately revived the archaic Paleo-Hebrew script of King David’s era to broadcast national pride and Jewish independence.

Jannaeus held dual authority as both Hellenistic monarch and High Priest (Kohen Gadol) of the Second Temple. This concentration of power sparked bitter religious friction between the Sadducees (the priestly aristocracy he favored) and the Pharisees (the popular sages of the people). During the festival of Sukkot in 90 BCE, tensions violently erupted at the Temple altar when worshippers protested his ritual practices by pelting the King-Priest with their etrogim (citrons):

"As he stood beside the altar and was about to sacrifice, they pelted him with citrons... and they added insult to injury by saying that he was unfit to hold office."
— Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (1st Century CE)

Despite internal political turmoil, Jannaeus’s small bronze coins became the primary medium of daily trade throughout Judea. Because their intrinsic bronze value was modest and subsequent Roman governors minted few low-denomination coins, these prutot remained in everyday circulation for well over a century.

By the 1st century CE, this humble bronze coin represented the smallest change in everyday pockets. It is widely recognized by historians and numismatists as the classic coin type immortalized in the Gospel accounts when Jesus observed the faithful devotion of a poor widow in the Temple courts:

"A poor widow also came and put in two small coins... For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."
— Mark 12:42–44