The Widow's Mite

Representing the kindness in all human beings, the Widow’s Mite is a very special relic from the time Jesus Christ walked the earth.

St. Mark 12:41-44: “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how… the rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto his disciples and saith unto them, verify I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in their abundance: but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even her living"

St. Luke 12:59: "I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite."

It is believed that the coins of Alexander Jannaeus, the most successful Maccabean king and high priest in the land of Israel between 103 and 76 BC, were the mites referred to in the New Testament.
These coins, the lowest value of their time, are also referred to as Prutah in Hebrew or Lepton in ancient Greek and were used for centuries. They were struck by the millions and can be found in archeological dig sites in the land of Israel.