K14 gold pendant
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites... And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily 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 of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all she had."

-Mark 12:41-44



There are very few stories from the Bible are as touching as this one, which tells us that the true nature of generosity is not how much you can give in relation to others, but how much you can give in relation to yourself. The two pennies that the poor widow contributed were more meaningful to Jesus than the amounts of silver that the wealthy merchants brought forth. Rather than a portion of the excess, the Widow did cast all she had to give. This tiny bronze coin (a mite) was struck in Judaea from 103 to 76 BC, and shows a star on one side and an anchor on the other. It is representative of what would have been used as small "pocket change" in Jerusalem at the time this poor widow made her memorable donation.

Antiquities