While many people accessorize with jewelry, jewelry can can also be infused with meaning and history. Think of a treasured piece of jewelry handed down from grandmother to granddaughter on her wedding day. Regardless of its intrinsic worth, it will be priceless to the one receiving it. Ancient coin jewelry already comes with a great and fascinating history. Once you add your own history to that of an ancient coin pendant or ring, it will become a precious heirloom, with a story that goes back for centiuries.

Ancient coin jewelry encompasses every kind of jewelry, including rings, necklaces, bracelets, tie clips, and cuff links. The coin in your one-of-a-kind piece of ancient coin jewelry may have been held by Caesar, or a Roman senator, or by Matthew the tax collector. The ancient coin in your ring is history that is literally “on hand” whenever you wear it. The coins in the jewelry were struck with depictions of temples, stars, and even mythological creatures.

Ancient coin jewelry with coins from the period of the Hasmonean dynasty, beginning in 134 BCE, when under Jewish King Alexander Jannaeus the lepton and prutah coins were minted, are widely sought out by Jews and Christians the world over because of their role in biblical history. Alexander Jannaeus, who ruled from 103-76 BCE, was the great nephew of Judah the Maccabee, who is famous from the story of Hanukkah.

Alexander Jannaeus was the first to use the well-known eight ray star of the widow’s mite coins. These coins often contained the Hellenistic anchor symbol, and many were stamped in Greek on the obverse and Hebrew on the converse. Jewish coinage of the time tended to be stamped with depictions of the star, the Temple, or the Menorah. Ancient coin jewelry made from these coins is dear to Jews, Christians, and anyone interested in the amazing and rich history of this period.

Many of the coins used in ancient coin jewelry are bronze. This is because bronze was the most common coin of the realm in the period from 135 BCE until the second century CE. Because they were low denomination coins, they are the ones that passed through the most hands in the markets of ancient cultures. The biblical widow’s mite is one such coin, featuring in the story of the widow and her coins in the New Testament books of Mark and Luke. For this reason, ancient coin jewelry made with the widow’s mite is especially treasured by Christians.

Ancient coin jewelry is precious to Jews and Christians for helping them to remember their ancient Jewish heritage and inspiring the imagination about the amazing events in history to which these coins were silent witnesses.

People have been making jewelry from coins for nearly as long as coins have been minted. Many ancient coins are not only beautiful, but often they are symbolic of times that are of historical significance to the wearer. An ancient coin can be made into just about any type of jewelry, including rings, earrings, cuff links, tie clasps, pendants, and bracelets.

Many Jews and Christians from throughout the world have a great appreciation for the ancient coins used in biblical times. Maccabean coins and the ancient coins known in the New Testament as “widow’s mites” have deep historical and spiritual meaning to Jews and Christians.

The Maccabees were Jewish rebels that fought the rule of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty and founded the Hasmonean royal dynasty, establishing Jewish independence in Israel from 165 to 63 BCE. During the Hasmonean dynasty, starting in 134 BCE, Jewish coins were minted, until the Bar Kochba revolt in the year 135 CE. Around the year 95 BCE the lepton and prutah coins of Alexander Jannaeus began being minted.

Alexander Jannaeus was the first Jewish king to use the eight ray star in his widow’s mite coins, along with the Seleucid ancient coin symbol of the anchor, which was in widespread use at the time. Some of these ancient coins had the obverse in Greek and the converse in Hebrew. Jewish coinage of the time focused on symbols, rather than animals, including the star, the Menorah, or trumpets.

While there is some debate as to which ancient coins the widow’s mites in the New Testament gospels of Mark and Luke refer to, it is most likely that they were prutah and lepton coins minted by Alexander Jannaeus, which were in Christ’s lifetime the lowest denomination coins that were still used dating from the time of Jannaeus. The lepton is the smallest denomination ancient coin from the time of Jesus, and is most likely the widow’s mite referred to in Mark and Luke. At that time, the value of widow’s mites were based on their combined weight with other ancient coins rather than on an individual coin’s value.

Many of these ancient coins have the pattern on one or both sides off-center due to the crude striking method. Most are around half an inch in diameter. They weigh about 0.8 grams to 3.5 grams. An ancient coin such as the lepton or prutah made into a piece of fine jewelry is a beautiful way for Jews and Christians to have a special item of jewelry with great personal and historic meaning.