<P> According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas Iscariot was a disciple of Jesus . Before the Last Supper, Judas went to the chief priests and agreed to hand over Jesus in exchange for 30 silver coins . Jesus was then arrested in Gethsemane, where Judas revealed Jesus' identity to the soldiers by giving him a kiss . </P> <P> According to Chapter 27 of Matthew's gospel, Judas was filled with remorse and returned the money to the chief priests before hanging himself . The chief priests decided that they could not put it into the temple treasury as it was considered blood money, and so with it they bought the Potter's Field . A different account of the death of Judas is given in Acts of Apostles; it describes Judas as using the money he had been rewarded with - no sum is specified - to buy the Potter's field, and then falling there, dying of the resulting intestinal injuries . </P> <P> The word used in Matthew 26: 15 (ἀργύρια, argyria) simply means "silver coins," and scholars disagree on the type of coins that would have been used . Donald Wiseman suggests two possibilities . They could have been tetradrachms of Tyre, usually referred to as Tyrian shekels (14 grams of 94% silver), or staters from Antioch (15 grams of 75% silver), which bore the head of Augustus . Alternatively, they could have been Ptolemaic tetradrachms (13.5 ± 1 g of 25% silver). There are 31.1035 grams per troy ounce . At spot valuation of $17.06 / oz (the closing price on Monday, December 12, 2016), 30 "pieces of silver" would be worth between $185 and $216 in present - day value (USD). </P> <P> The Tyrian shekel weighed four Athenian drachmas, about 14 grams, more than earlier 11 - gram Israeli shekels, but was regarded as the equivalent for religious duties at that time . Because Roman coinage was only 80% silver, the purer (94% or more) Tyrian shekels were required to pay the temple tax in Jerusalem . The money changers referenced in the New Testament Gospels (Matt . 21: 12 and parallels) exchanged Tyrian shekels for common Roman currency . </P>

What would 30 pieces of silver be worth today