Beaches can hold a plethora of lost treasures. From old bottle caps to loose change to lost wedding rings, people lose small objects on the beach all the time. So much so that some people make it their mission to help find these lost items. Avi Chaprak, deputy director of the Ashdod Beaches Department, is one such person.
Chaprak helps beachgoers locate lost items along some of the Ashdod Beaches, but during one of these search operations, he came across something unexpected: a long-lost ancient coin. Chaprak turned the coin over to the Israel Antiquities Authority, which in turn dated it at about 2,500 years old, determined it originated in Cyprus, and said it is the first of its kind found in Israel.
“Coins of this size and value from the Persian period are rare altogether in the archaeological record. Usually, silver coins of this size were not preserved intact,” Yanniv David Levy, researcher and curator in the Israel Antiquities Authority Coin Department, said in a press release.
Read More: 400 Gold Coins Recovered From 17th-Century Shipwreck Shed Light on Dutch Trading History
What Does the Cyprus Coin Look Like?
(Image Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
The coin was likely minted in Salamis, an ancient city on the east coast of Cyprus, during the mid-fifth century B.C.E., when the Persian Empire ruled. The coin, which is around 11 grams, is a denomination known as “Siglos,” according to a press release.
“At first glance it looked to be made of silver, but a closer examination showed it to actually be of metal that was only plated with silver; a known phenomenon in Cypriot silver coins from this period, given the shortage of silver on the island,” said Levy.
Each side of the coin depicts a ram. One facing to the left, and lying down, or recumbent, while the other side shows the ram’s head facing to the left; this side also depicts a laurel branch and Cypriot symbols.
A Rare and Insightful Find
Cyprus may be a small island nation, but that doesn’t mean these coins did not spread. While people have uncovered them at more inland sites, this discovery could provide more information about the area over 2,500 years ago.
“Salamis coins from the 5th century B.C.E. were circulating throughout the eastern Mediterranean,” Evangeline Markou, senior researcher at the Institute of Historical Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation, and an expert in ancient Cypriot coinage, said in the press release.
“However, finds with an exact provenance are rarer, and therefore this coin potentially offers significant information about trade ties and movement between Cyprus and the Land of Israel during this period,” Markou added.
With it being a first-of-its-kind discovery in Israel, researchers are hopeful they can learn more about the area’s history.
“The circumstances of the discovery and the accurate reporting allow us researchers not only to identify the coin itself, but also to use it as a reliable source of information about economic and maritime ties that existed in this region some 2,500 years ago,” Levy concluded.
Read More: Railway Excavations Uncover a 1,740-Year-Old Coin of Britain's Breakaway Roman Emperor
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from the Israel Antiquities Authority: A surprise guest from Cyprus: A rare coin discovered on Ashdod Beach
