A silver Shekel issued by the rebels in 68 AD. Year 68 was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Obverse: "Shekel Israel. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Year 3"; Reverse: "Jerusalem the Holy"

Shekel also rendered sheqel, refers to one of many ancient units of weight and currency. Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the In the Physical sciences weight is a Measurement of the gravitational Force acting on an object A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The first known usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement originated in the loosely organized city-states of Early Dynastic Sumer. The 30th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 3000 BC to 2901 BC One explanation is given for the origination of this word as to have originally applied to a specific mass of barley, and the first syllable of the word, 'she' was Akkadian for barley. Barley ( Hordeum vulgare) is an annual Cereal Grain, which serves as a major animal Feed crop, with smaller amounts used for A shekel was originally 180 grains (8. In many cultures a grain is a unit of measurement of Mass that is based upon the mass of a single seed of a typical Cereal. 33 grams). Another explanation is given, that the word Shekel in Hebrew means to weigh; and the English word "scale" and the Persian "sigloi" is thought to derive from it. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

The earliest shekels were not money, but were a unit of weight, used as other units of weight such as grams and troy ounces for trading before the advent of coins. Early coins were money stamped with an official seal to certify their weight. Coins were invented by the early Anatolian traders who stamped their own marks so that they would not have to weigh it again each time it was used. Silver ingots, some with markings on them were issued. Later the stamping was taken over by official authorities who designed the coins. (Detroit Institute of Arts, 1964) Herodotus states that the first coinage was issued by Croesus, King of Lydia, spreading to the golden Daric (worth 20 sigloi or shekel), issued by the Persian Empire and the Silver Athenian obol and drachma. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash This article refers to the historical King of Lydia For the opera by Reinhard Keiser, see Croesus (opera. Defining Lydia Aside from a legend related by Herodotus, who states that the name Lydia came from king Lydus at the time of the fall of Troy The daric was a gold Coin used within the Persian Empire. It was of very high gold quality with a purity of 95 The coinage of the Achaemenid Empire was a continuation of the Coins of Lydia. The obolus (or obol) is a Greek silver Coin worth a sixth of a Drachma. Drachma, pl drachmas or drachmae (δραχμή pl δραχμές or δραχμαί (until 1982 is the name of An ancient currency unit found in many

The plural can be shekels, sheqels or sheqalim. In some regions of the United States, the term is used informally for "money," particularly in situations where value is an important consideration. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts.

Bar Kokhba's Tetradrachm/Shekel/Sela. The tetradrachm (τετράδραχμον was an Ancient Greek silver coin equivalent to four drachms It was in wide circulation from 510 to 38 BCE Obverse: the Temple facade with the rising star. Reverse: A lulav, the text reads: "Year one of the redemption of Israel"

It most commonly refers to an ancient Hebrew unit of weight. Lulav (לולב is a ripe green closed frond of the Date palm tree Hebrews (or Hebertes, Eberites, Hebreians, " Habiru " or " Habiri " Hebrew: עברים As with many ancient units, the shekel represented a variety of values depending on date, domain and region. Sources quote weights between 9 and 17 grams and values of 11^[1], 14, and 17 grams are common. For other uses of the words gram or gramme see Gram (disambiguation. It can be a gold or silver coin equal in weight to one of these units, especially the chief silver coin of the Hebrews. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review

The shekel was commonly used among other western Semitic peoples as well. In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ Moabites, Edomites and Phoenicians all used the shekel, the latter as coinage as well as for a unit of weight. Moab (; Greek Μωάβ; Arabic مؤاب, Assyrian Mu'aba, Ma'ba, Ma'ab; Egyptian Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Punic coinage was based on the shekel, a heritage from their Canaanite ancestors. The Aramaic spelling tekel appears with a symbolic meaning in the writing on the wall during the feast of Belshazzar, according to the Book of Daniel. " The writing on the wall " (or sometimes "handwriting on the wall" is an Expression which suggests a portent of doom or misfortune The Book of Daniel (דניאל, originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, is a Book in both the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh) and the Christian

Silver Tyrian shekels are thought to be the infamous "30 pieces of silver" in the New Testament. Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Judas Iscariot, יהודה איש־קריות Yəhûḏāh ʾΚ-qəriyyôṯ was according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original apostles

Since 1980, the sheqel has been the currency of the modern state of Israel, first the Israeli sheqel, then (since 1985) the Israeli new sheqel. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The Sheqel (שקל plural sheqalim שקלים was the currency of Israel between February 24, 1980 and December 31, 1985 Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) The Israeli New Sheqel ( ( sign: ₪; code: ILS) (also spelled unofficially shekel; pl

The shekel is also a unit of measurement in New Crobuzon, the setting of China Miéville's Bas-Lag series, and the nickname of one of the main characters in The Scar. New Crobuzon is a Fictional City-state created by China Miéville. China Tom Miéville (ˈtʃɑinɑ ˈmieɪˌvɪl (born September 6, 1972 in Norwich) is an award-winning English "fantastic fiction" The Scar is the third novel written by China Miéville, a self-described " Weird fiction " writer from London England

References

• Detroit Institute of Arts, 1964 Coins of the Ancient World

See also

• History of currency
• Israeli new sheqel
• Israeli pound
• Gelt

Notes