An Extremely Rare Gold Coin of the 2nd Century with the Image of Emperor Octavius Augustus Was Found in Galilee, Israel
The ancient gold coin, according to the Israeli web newspaper Jewish Business News, was discovered by Laurie Rimon, a member of Kibbutz (Jewish agricultural community) Kfar Blum in Upper Galilee in northern Israel. While hiking with her friends in Eastern Galilee at the site of the archaeological excavations, Laurie noticed “a shiny object in the grass.”
An Extremely Rare Gold Coin of the 2nd Century with the Image of Emperor Octavius Augustus Was Found in Galilee, Israel
An Extremely Rare Gold Coin of the 2nd Century with the Image of Emperor Octavius Augustus Was Found in Galilee, Israel
An Extremely Rare Gold Coin of the 2nd Century with the Image of Emperor Octavius Augustus Was Found in Galilee, Israel
The tour guide of the group, Irit Zuk-Kovacsi contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority, and within two hours its representatives arrived at the site. “It was not easy parting with the coin. After all, it is not every day one discovers such an amazing object, but I hope I will see it displayed in a museum in the near future,” — said Laurie Rimon.
The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent governmental organization, responsible in Israel for exercising control over the ancient monuments, excavations, and finds; and it has a Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery.
According to the press-release on the site of the organization, Nir Distenfeld, inspector of this unit, commended the woman for the way she treated the discovery, “Laurie demonstrated exemplary civic behaviour by handing this important coin over to the Antiquities Authority.” “It is important to know that when you find an archaeological artefact it is advisable to call IAA representatives to the location spot in the field,” he reminded.
According to archaeologist Dr. Danny Syon, a senior numismatist at the Israel Antiquities Authority, the coin was minted in Rome in 107 C.E., during the reign of emperor Trajan. The averse bears the image of emperor Octavius Augustus’ profile, around which there is an inscription “Augustus Deified.” The obverse has the images of eagles — symbols of Roman legions, next to the name of Trajan, Roman emperor, who ruled between 98-117 A.D.
Such coins were usually issued as a tribute series, and were not commonly circulated. Presumably, a few coins were minted in memory of the emperor’s predecessors. Until now, only one such coin has been known. The find made in Galilee is the second copy of the coin, which is kept in London, at the British Museum.
The head curator of the coin department at the Israel Antiquities Authority Dr. Donald T. Ariel suggested, that the coin was left here 2,000 years ago, for example, by legionaries who suppressed the Jewish rebellion led by Simon Bar Kokhba against the Romans during the reign of Roman emperor Adrian in 132-136 A.D. “But it is very difficult to determine that on the basis of a single coin,” he added.
According to the specialist, once a quarter, mercenaries received three gold coins, each one equalling twenty five silver coins in value. It was easy to transport this money, but not to go with these coins to the market, where it was difficult to change them. That is why most of the coins were made of silver or of gold.
Prior to the discovery made by Rion, only two golden coins had been found in Israel dating from the time of Trajan, and both of them are serial coins. One was found in Givat Shaul near Jerusalem, and the other – in Kiryat Gat region (Israel’s Southern District).
Marcus Ulpius Traianus, who reigned between 98-117, was the first emperor to come from a Roman province, and the first acting emperor commanding the army. The Roman Empire under him reached its maximum size.
The territory of Israel and Syria was the base for the eastern campaigns of Trajan’s army. In 107, Roman legions occupied Petra, annexing the Nabataean kingdom. Trajan gained several victories over the Roman empires’ old rival — the Parthian kingdom, sending the fleet to the Indian Ocean.
In 117, because of the uprising of the Jews, who lived in the empire, the emperor had to discontinue his campaign against the Parthians. On the way to Rome he died and was succeeded by Adrian, who severely suppressed both this rebellion and the uprising of Bar-Kokhba.
This article is translated from the web resource: http://old.archeo-news.ru (in Russian), posted on March 16, 2016.