At the time of Jesus Christ, several coins were in circulation in Judea. The standard unit of Roman currency was the silver denarius (drachma in Greek units). A denarius is supposed to be equivalent to the daily wage of a worker. Since the priests of the Jerusalem temple accepted the temple tax only in this currency, the moneychangers around the Temple offered their services and converted foreign money into this type of currency.
The exchanger that offered this service, in addition to exchanging foreign currency for local currency, was known as the shulhani. Some scholars believe that other coins could have been used during Jesus' day as well. These coins included the shekel, which was a silver coin, and the stater, which was a gold coin. The shekel was worth two denarii, while the stater was worth four denarii.
The shekel was used to pay the temple tax, while the stater was used for larger transactions. It is likely that Jesus and his disciples used these coins for their everyday transactions. In addition to coins, bartering was also a common form of payment during Jesus' day. People would exchange goods and services for other goods and services without using any money at all.
This was especially common among poorer people who did not have access to coins or other forms of money. It is clear that several different forms of money were used during Jesus' day. The most common form of money was the denarius, but other coins such as the shekel and stater were also used. Bartering was also a popular form of payment.
