Greek lepton

Reverse of a Greek 5 lepta coin (termed "obolos") of 1869.

The lepton, plural lepta (Greek: λεπτόν, pl. λεπτά) is the name of various fractional units of currency used in the Greek-speaking world from antiquity until today. The word means "small" or "thin", and during Classical and Hellenistic times a lepton was always a small value coin, usually the smallest available denomination of another currency.[1]

The coin in the lesson of the widow's mite (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4) is referred to as a lepton and Luke's Gospel also refers to the lepton or mite when stating that a person who does not make peace with his adversary in good time will be required to pay 'to the very last mite' before being released from prison.[2] In the Hasmonean Kingdom the lepton was first minted under Alexander Jannaeus prior to 76 B.C.E.[3]

In modern Greece, lepton (modern form: lepto, λεπτό) is the name of the 1/100 denomination of all the official currencies of the Greek state: the phoenix (1827–1832), the drachma (1832–2001) and the euro (2002–current) – the name is the Greek form of "euro cent". Its unofficial currency sign is Λ (lambda).[1] Since the late 1870s, and until the introduction of the euro in 2001, no Greek coin had been minted with a denomination lower than 5 lepta.

References

  1. 1 2 Fleur de Coin - Greek 50 Lepta Coins
  2. ↑ Luke 12:59
  3. ↑ Coins of the Bible Set 2 of 3, Whitman Publishing, LLC, 2004. ISBN 0-7948-1889-7


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