Prutah (coin)
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Prutah (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: פרוטה) is a
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
term, possibly derived from Aramaic. It refers to a small denomination
coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
.


History


Antiquity

The prutah was an ancient
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
Jewish coin with low value. A loaf of bread in ancient times was worth about 10 ''prutot'' (plural of prutah). One prutah was also worth two lepta (singular
lepton In particle physics, a lepton is an elementary particle of half-integer spin ( spin ) that does not undergo strong interactions. Two main classes of leptons exist: charged leptons (also known as the electron-like leptons or muons), and neutr ...
), which was the smallest denomination minted by the Hasmonean and
Herodian Dynasty The Herodian dynasty was a royal dynasty of Idumaean (Edomite) descent, ruling the Herodian Kingdom of Judea and later the Herodian Tetrarchy as a vassal state of the Roman Empire. The Herodian dynasty began with Herod the Great, who assumed the ...
kings. Prutot were also minted by the Roman Procurators of the
Province of Judea Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of ...
, and later were minted by the Jews during the First Jewish Revolt (sometimes called 'Masada coins').Prutah on Biblicalmites.com


State of Israel

In modern times, the pruta was a denomination of
currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general def ...
in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. The prutah was introduced shortly after the establishment of the state of
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, as the 1000th part of the
Israeli pound The pound or lira ( he, לירה ישראלית ''Lira Yisra'elit'', ar, جنيه إسرائيلي ''Junayh ʾIsrāʾīlī''; abbreviation: IL in Latin alphabet, Latin, ל"י in Hebrew script, Hebrew; code ) was the currency of the Israel, State ...
. It replaced the mil, which was the 1000th part of the Palestine pound, a currency issued by the British Mandate of Palestine prior to May 1948. The prutah was abolished in 1960, when the Israeli government decided to change the subdivision of the Israeli pound into 100 agorot. This move was necessary due to the constant devaluation of the Israeli pound, which rendered coins smaller than 10 prutot redundant.


See also

* Hasmonean coinage * Coins of Alexander Jannaeus *
Herodian coinage Herodian coinage were coins minted and issued by the Herodian Dynasty, Jews of Idumean descent who ruled the province of Judaea between 37 BC–92 AD. The dynasty was founded by Herod the Great who was the son of Antipater, a powerful officia ...
* Roman Procurator coinage *
First Jewish Revolt coinage First Jewish Revolt coinage was issued by the Jews after the Zealots captured Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple from the Romans in 66 CE at the beginning of the First Jewish Revolt. The Jewish leaders of the revolt minted their own coins to empha ...
*
Bar Kochba Revolt coinage Bar Kokhba Revolt coinage were coins issued by the Judaean rebel state, headed by Simon Bar Kokhba, during the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire of 132-135 CE. During the Revolt, large quantities of coins were issued in silver and copp ...
*
List of historical currencies This is a list of historical currencies. Greece * Aeginian stater (gold) * Corinthian stater (silver) * Aurous * Athenian drachma (silver) *Stater (silver) *Tetradrachm (silver) *Drachma (silver) ** Alexandrian coinage ** Ptolemaic coinage **Sel ...
*
Gerah A gerah () is an ancient Hebrew unit of weight and currency, which, according to the Torah (''Exodus'' 30:13, ''Leviticus'' 27:25, ''Numbers'' 3:47, 18:16), was equivalent to of a standard "sacred" shekel. A gerah is known in Aramaic, and usually ...
* Zuz


References


External links


2000 year old Maccabean coin found
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prutah (coin) Ancient currencies Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire Coins of ancient Rome Currencies of Israel Historical currencies, List of Numismatics Modern obsolete currencies