- Rate of אונאה for deficient coins
The next Mishnah states: כמה תהא הסלע חסירה – How much can a sela be missing through erosion, ולא יהא בה אונאה – and there will be no אונאה in using it? Rebbe Meir says four issers per sela, which is one isser per dinar, which is 1/24. Rebbe Yehudah says 1/12, and Rebbe Shimon says 1/6. The Gemara asks why this machlokes appears only in regard to deficient coins, and not regarding אונאה of a טלית (or any merchandise). Rava says there is no difference, and the previous Mishnah, which defined אונאה as a sixth, follows Rebbe Shimon’s opinion (and the other Tannaim hold אונאה for all merchandise is 1/24 or 1/12, respectively). Abaye distinguishes between merchandise and currency. Regarding a cloak, a person would forgive overpaying up to a sixth, as people say: עשיק לגביך ושוי לכרסיך – overpay for your back (i.e., to clothe yourself); pay only fair value for your stomach (i.e., do not overpay for food). But regarding deficient currency, כיון דלא סגי ליה לא מחיל – since it is not easily accepted at its face value, one does not forgive even small deficiencies (thus, all Tannaim agree that אונאה for merchandise is a sixth).
- Time limits for returning deficient coins, and מידת חסידות
The Mishnah taught the time limits to return a deficient coin: בכרכים עד שיראה לשולחני – in cities, until enough time passes for him to show it to a moneychanger; בכפרים עד ערבי שבתות – in villages, until the eve of the next Shabbos, when he is purchasing food for Shabbos, and merchants reject the coin. The Gemara asks why this distinction was not made regarding a טלית. Abaye agrees that the distinction applies equally to merchandise, and the Mishnah’s time limit (to show it to a merchant or relative) refers to cities. Rava answers that regarding a cloak, etc., כל איניש קים ליה בגוה – any person is knowledgeable about it, and an expert can easily be found. Coins, which require a moneychanger’s appraisal, have a different time limit in cities, where a moneychanger is available, than in villages. The Mishnah taught that if he recognizes his coin, he should accept it back even after twelve months. This contradicts the Mishnah’s time limits, and Rav Chisda explains that it refers to מידת חסידות – a trait of piety, but if someone else refuses to accept the coin back after the time limit, the Mishnah teaches: אין לו עליו אלא תרעומת – he has nothing against him but a complaint.
- Chilul maaser sheni on a deficient coin
The Mishnah stated: ונותנה למעשר שני ואינו חושש – and he may use [a fraudulently deficient coin] for deconsecrating maaser sheni, and need not worry, שאינו אלא נפש רעה – because it is an ungenerous person who would refuse to accept the coin. This supports Chizkiyah’s statement, that one who changes a deficient sela must change it according to its actual (deficient) worth, and בא לחללה מחללה ביפה – when he is mechalel [maaser sheni] on it, he is mechalel onto it at its face value, as a good coin.
This leniency seems to contradict another ruling of Chizkiyah’s: if one has maaser sheni worth less than a perutah, which cannot be redeemed, Chizkiyah says he may declare it (and its fifth) deconsecrated on other money with which he was previously mechalel maaser sheni, because we assume his previous chilul did not use the entire value of the money, because people leave room for error to guarantee the chilul of all their maaser. How can Chizkiyah allow chilul at less than the deficient coin’s actual value?! Therefore, the Gemara reinterprets Chizkiyah as saying the coin may be used בתורת יפה – with its definite value, i.e., the lowest value for which merchants may accept it.