Coin bracelets are just one type of jewelry made from ancient coins. Each and every coin bracelet is different, because the coins all have a slightly different patina and have worn down differently over the centuries.

One popular type of coin jewelry are coin bracelets made from widow’s mite coins. These humble bronze coins, actually the lepton and prutah of ancient Israel, were the ones referred to in the King James translation of the New Testament as the “mites” given by the poor widow in the Gospel of Mark. Just think of the feeling of wearing a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry from a coin that passed through the hands of countless everyday people 2000 years ago! A widow’s mite bracelet is one of the most popular coin bracelets available.

Coin bracelets may also be made with other ancient coins, such as coins minted during the Bar Kochba Revolt, from 132 to 135 CE. The coins in these coin bracelets bear a vine leaf and the inscription “For the Freedom of Israel.” Some 62 years after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Hadrian proposed to build a new city over Jerusalem with a temple dedicated to Jupiter on the site of the Jewish Temple. The Jewish leader Simon Bar Kochba rallied the Jews and defeated the Roman forces in the region, putting Jerusalem temporarily back under Jewish control. Coins from the period of this rebellion used to make coin bracelets were often struck over existing coins, and with some you can see remnants of the old design. The rebellion was ultimately quashed by the Romans, and Simon Bar Kochba was captured and executed. Imagine the sense of reverence and history that coin bracelets bearing coins from this period bring.

Masada coins are examples of the prutah, a commonly minted bronze coin in the first century CE used to make coin bracelets. They are also considered as widow’s mites by some, though others believe the true widow’s mite coin was the lepton. A large store of prutot was discovered during an archaeological excavation at Masada, site of the mass suicide of Jews after a Roman siege in the year 73 in which they knew their capture would result in slavery or execution. Prutot are used in many beautiful types of coin bracelets, bringing the sense of Jewish history alive to its wearers.

Coin bracelets are just one type of ancient coin jewelry beloved by Jews, Christians, and those who love ancient history the world over for their unique beauty and for the historic events to which they bore silent witness.