King David's Coins

When David became the great and beloved king of Israel, he ordered new gold and silver coins to be minted.

"Be sure to give the coins their full weight, so that my people may deal honestly with each other," David warned his ministers.

"And what, Your Majesty, shall be your emblem on the new coins?" asked the ministers.

"A tower (the Tower of David) should be placed on one side of the coins.

The ministers were very pleased. But they were not a little surprised when the king continued-

"And on the other - a shepherd's staff and shepherd's bag."

The ministers went to work and before long, off came shiny new coins of gold and silver. Everybody was anxious to see and own the new coins, for they were honest and had their full weight. The coins spread to other lands too, for merchants would have David's coins rather than any others.

But what people liked most about these coins were the "heads" and "tails" of them. "Look!" they said to one another. "The great and mighty David, whom G-d had chosen and anointed, is not ashamed of his humble origin. Nay, he never forgets that G-d had taken him from his flocks of sheep and made him king. He has other flock to care for now, and he treats them as lovingly and as tenderly as he had treated his little lambs!"

And in all foreign lands, where the people suffered under the reign of cruel tyrants, people admired King David's coins, sighed and said: "How good it is to be an Israelite and have such a wonderful and lovely king!"