Laurie Rimon, from Kibbutz Kefar Blum in northern Israel, has found an extremely rare gold coin with the face of a Roman emperor.
Obverse and reverse of the 1,900-year-old gold coin. Image credit: Samuel Magal / Shai Halevy / Israel Antiquities Authority.
“Laurie demonstrated exemplary civic behavior by handing this important coin over to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA),” said Dr. Nir Distelfeld, an inspector with the IAA Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery.
“This is an extraordinarily remarkable and surprising discovery. I believe that soon, thanks to Laurie, the public will be able to enjoy this rare find.”
According to archaeologists at the IAA, the find is so rare that only one other such coin is known to exist.
“This coin, minted in Rome in 107 CE, is rare on a global level,” explained IAA numismatist Dr. Danny Syon.
“On the reverse we have the symbols of the Roman legions next to the name of the Roman emperor Trajan, and on the obverse — instead of an image of Trajan, as was usually the case — there is the portrait of the emperor ‘Augustus Deified’ (Divus Augustus).”
This coin is part of a series of coins minted by the emperor Trajan (reigned 98 – 117 CE) as a tribute to the emperors that preceded him.
“The coin may reflect the presence of the Roman army in the region some 2,000 years ago – possibly in the context of activity against Bar Kokhba supporters in the Galilee – but it is very difficult to determine that on the basis of a single coin,” added Dr. Donald T. Ariel, head curator of the IAA Coin Department.
“Historical sources describing the period note that some Roman soldiers were paid a high salary of three gold coins, the equivalent of 75 silver coins, each payday. Because of their high monetary value soldiers were unable to purchase goods in the market with gold coins, as the merchants could not provide change for them.”
“Whilst the bronze and silver coins of Trajan are common in the country, his gold coins are extremely rare,” Dr. Ariel said.
