Shekel

Shekel or sheqel (Akkadian: 𒅆𒅗𒇻, romanized: šiqlu, siqlu; Hebrew: שקל, romanized: šeqel, plural Hebrew: שקלים, romanized: šəqālim, Phoenician: 𐤔𐤒𐤋) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly 11 grams (0.35 ozt)—and became currency in ancient Tyre and Carthage and then in Hasmonean Judea.