Graven Images and the shekels and half-shekels of Ancient Tyre
Exodus 30: 13-16) to collect a half-shekel tax, the shekel being 20 gerah of the shekel of the sanctuary, at the time of each census. During the time of Moses there were no coins, so we understand this to mean the weight of half a shekel, according to the standards set by the sanctuary. Subsequently, it is suggested that the half-shekel was paid annually ( II Kings 12 5-17 and Nehemiah 10:32-33). In the Book of Nehemiah, it was referred to as a “third-shekel” but scholars generally believe that this was either an error of transcription or a reference to Persian weight standards, common...
Source: coinweek.com