History in the Holy Land is everywhere you are. Jerusalem is holy to three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and throughout the Holy Land are historical sites that are filled with the stories of thousands of years of humanity.

Though the Holy Land is most strongly associated with the Jewish faith, Christians from all over come to the Holy Land because of the major historical sites of Christianity there, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, Tiberius, Cana, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Mount Tabor of the Transfiguration of Christ.

Coins from the Holy Land are dear to Jews and Christians alike, due to the many historic sites in the Holy Land for both faiths, and due to the two faiths’ shared heritage. For example, the humble bronze coins known as the prutah and the lepton were Jewish coins significant to Jews because they were the first truly Jewish coins minted in the Holy Land.

These coins of the Holy Land are also significant to Christians, because they were in use during the time of Jesus’ teachings in the Temple concerning wealth and the impoverished widow. To Christians, the lepton is sometimes known as the widow’s mite, as they were called in the King James translation of the Gospel of Mark.

Coins from the Holy Land from the time of the First and Second Jewish revolts, from 66-73 CE and 132-135 CE, are of great significance to Jews. During the First Jewish revolt, when the Jews regained control of the Temple in Jerusalem, they minted the first totally Jewish silver shekels for circulation there.

During the Second Jewish revolt, Jews in the Holy Land created coins from old non-Jewish bronze and silver coins by filing off the designs and re-striking them. These coins from the Holy Land are among the most treasured, because of what is known about the Second revolt and because so little written record of the revolt exists.

It would be impossible for the visitor to the Holy Land to gather tangible souvenirs of all the history to be experienced there. That’s one reason why Jews and Christians from all over the world who visit the Holy Land so often obtain ancient coins and jewelry made from ancient coins as a way of holding a tiny piece of the vast and deep history in their hands and passing it on to future generations.