Bava Metzia 55 - Prutahs and One-Fifth Surcharges (Finds)

Prutah is the smallest coin at the time of the Mishna, worth 1/40 of a gram of silver today.

There are five laws where the minimal value is a prutah: partial admitting of a debt leading to an oath, betrothing a woman, using consecrated property, returning a lost object, and returning a stolen item after denying it under oath.

There are five cases where one has to add a of 1/5 to his payment: a non-Kohen who inadvertently eats a priest’s portion of produce, one who redeems his second tithe, one who redeems his consecrated things, one who benefits from consecrated property, and one who returns a stolen item after denying it under oath.

Art: Solving the Problem by Henri-Jules-Jean Geoffroy