[Avodah] How much is an Omer?

[Chanoch (Ken) Bloom]

On Wed, 2010-02-03 at 13:58 +0100, Arie Folger wrote:
> R'nTK wrote:
> > 1.  Avraham pays 400 shekels for Me'aras Hamachpela and the
> > shekels  are defined as "over lasocher." (Ber. 23:16).   The pasuk
> > doesn't just  say Avraham "paid" 400 shekels, it says he "weighed
> > out" 400 shekels, so you  know he paid top dollar.
> 
> Just a tangential point: Of course he weighed it, as minted coins with
> standard valuation were not invented yet. Silver, gold or brass was
> paid in weight. KNLAD.

Bava Kamma 97b: What was the coin of Abraham Avinu? — An old man and an
old woman on the one side, and a young man and a young woman on the
other.

i.e. Avraham minted a coin, so it could very well have been invented
before he bought Ma'arat HaMachpelah.

--Ken