In the Revised Version of 1 Chr. 29:7; Ezra 2:69; 8:27; Neh. 7:70-72, where the Authorized Version has "dram." It is the rendering of the Hebrew darkemon and the Greek dareikos. It was a gold coin, bearing the figure of a Persian King with his crown and armed with bow and arrow. It was current among the Jews after their return from Babylon, i.e., while under the Persian domination. It weighed about 128 grains troy, and was of the value of about one guinea or rather more of our money. It is the first coin mentioned in Scripture, and is the oldest that history makes known to us. (from dara, a king), Authorized Version "dram," (1 Chronicles 29:7; Ezra 2:69; 8:27; Nehemiah 7:70,71,72) a gold coin current in Palestine in the period after the return from Babylon. It weighed 128 grains, and was worth about five dollars. At these times there was no large issue of gold money except by the Persian kings. The darics which have been discovered are thick pieces of pure hold, of archaic style, bearing on the obverse the figure of a king with bow and javelin or bow and dagger, and on the reverse an irregular incuse square. The silver daric was worth about fifty cents.
Daric