A 22-year-old man bought a coin that he believes could date back more than 2,000 years for just £29 . Coin collector Stephen Creswell snapped up what he thinks is a half shekel from Tyre - which dates back to 126BC - at an auction in Wolverhampton , Staffordshire . The coins are believed by Biblical scholars to have been the same as those used to pay Judas Iscariot his 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus . Lost treasure ? The coin found by Stephen Creswell , 22 , which he believes to be half a shekel from Tyre . Collector : Mr Creswell , pictured , bought the coin for just £29 at an auction in Wolverhampton , Staffordshire . But one expert claims the coin is unlikely to be an original and believes Mr Cresswell might have a 'mock up ' . The battered coin weighs 7.7grams , half of a full shekel 's weight . The earliest reference of the coin comes in 126BC and it is understood that they remained in circulation . Shekels were used for temple tax in ancient Jerusalem due to their relatively higher concentration of silver than other Roman coins . In Matthew 27:3 it is said : 'Then when Judas , who had betrayed Him , saw that He had been condemned , he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders ... ' In some translations of the bible , the word 'silver ' is replaced with 'shekels ' . Mr Creswell , from Dudley , West Midlands said that he bought the coin as part of a selection but quickly realised he had 'something special ' . He said : 'As soon as I saw how old it was I knew I had something special on my hands . I had no idea what it was though until I typed it in to the search engine . ' I 'm not really a coin collector , but I just love to grab a bargain . ' But after looking at images of the coin , one expert said he does not believe it to be a shekel as Mr Cresswell had hoped . Payment : The coins are believed by Biblical scholars to have been the same as those used to pay Judas Iscariot his 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus , illustrated in this image above . Professional numismatist Mike Vosper told MailOnline : ' I can confirm that this is not even a coin but either a contemporary forgery , although this is doubtful , or more like a modern mock up of a `` coin '' believed to be some kind of shekel . ' Mr Vosper , who runs Mike R Vosper Coins with his partner Viv , said it was the fabric of the coin and the fact that it has half its surface missing that gives it away . Viv added : 'Some coins have surface deposits but nothing like that ' . Mr Vosper added that coins such as that is not likely to be found in the UK . The coin , if real , could fetch up to £500 if it was to be sold . Mr Creswell has no intention of selling it on as it reminds me of playing with artifacts when he was younger . He said : 'We had these old coins lying around when I was a kid . They always fascinated me because of the places they have travelled and the hands they could have passed through . ' Mr Cresswell started attending auctions as a teenager and said he loved their competitive nature . He said : 'Bidding against other people is part way between placing a bet and taking part in a competition . ' I hate leaving any auction empty handed . My home is full of quirky objects that I 've picked up along the way . Without doubt , the half shekel is my favourite so far . '
Collector Jesus , 22 , bought the coin at auction for just £29 . He believes it is half a shekel from Tyre which dates back to 126BC . Coins were used to pay tax in ancient Jerusalem and are cited in the bible . But coin expert said its appearance means it is unlikely to be an original .