This passage is just another time when the pharisees are trying to trick Jesus. They ask,’should we pay this tax to the Romans?’ If he says yes they can say,’Look what a bad Jew he is! He is willing to give to a Roman Temple.’ If he says ,’No.’ Then they can report him to the Romans for preaching sedition (that is turning people against the Romans.) But Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish and in its mouth is a coin. Jesus asks, ‘Whose face is on the coin?’ Now he has tricked the Pharisees because they aren’t supposed to touch anything with a face on it, (see Jewish Laws). They say it is the Emperor’s face. So Jesus says, ‘Well then, give it to the Emperor, and give God what is God’s.’ They are many things that people say it means but I think it is saying, Live in your country, according to its rules but make sure God is God in your life.

“Before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in A.D. 70 every male Jew above nineteen years of age was obliged to make an annual contribution to its upkeep. (cf Ex.30, 11-16, Neh. 10, 33) After the destruction the Romans imposed upon Jews the obligation of paying that tax for the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. There is disagreement about which period the story deals with.”

The above is a quotation from the footnotes of the Saint Joseph Edition of The New American Bible. The footnote specifically is a reference to Mt. 17:24. This is a Catholic bible

Most Jews at the time had to pay a temple tax-more like an offering- and give it to the tribute collectors. It was not required but it was something you just did if you were a Jew. But Jesus did not like the tribute tax but anyways sent Peter to catch a fish and find a coin in it’s mouth and pay the tax for him and Peter.

Try leaving the same message here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/

It seems tome that Jesus provided a way for them to pay for the children. They did this by fishing and there was gold coin in the fish’s mouth.