How many silver coins did the woman have in the parable of the lost coin?

In the parable of the lost coin found in Luke 15:8, we encounter a woman who had ten silver coins, known in Greek as "drachmas." This detail is not just a random number—it serves a purpose. In the ancient world, a coin like this held significant value, typically equivalent to a day's wage. So, losing even a single coin wasn't trivial.

The woman’s frantic search mirrors the persistent pursuit often depicted in biblical narratives, reminding us that divine love treats every single individual with immense importance—an echo of ideas found elsewhere in scripture. Just as Jesus shares this story alongside the parable of the lost sheep, it illustrates God's boundless compassion.

Interestingly, in Jewish culture, ten coins could also be symbolically connected to the concept of completeness—the number itself often representing a whole in various contexts. The woman’s loss, in this sense, resonates on multiple levels, speaking not only to financial loss but to personal significance.

Did you know the lost coin parable suggests that sometimes the "lost" have great worth? It reflects the idea of redemption and recovery—very relevant themes for all people. This parable emphasizes that whether it’s a coin or a person, when something is lost, its true value is revealed in the effort made to find it, reflecting the grandeur of accessibility and worth in our collective human experience.