Israeli archaeologists discover large trove of Islamic gold coins

[Graybeard]

https://www.foxnews.com/world/israeli-archaeologists-discover-large-trove-of-islamic-gold-coins

 By Frank Miles | Fox News

A collection of 425 complete early Islamic gold coins were discovered near the central city of Yavne, Israeli archaeologists announced Monday.

The trove, which was unearthed by youth volunteers during recent salvage excavations, date to the Abbasid period around 1,100 years ago.


Israeli archaeologist Shahar Krispin counts gold coins buried in a pottery vessel that was discovered at an archeological site in central Israel, Tuesday, Aug 18, 2020. Israeli archaeologists have announced the discovery of a trove of early Islamic gold coins during recent salvage excavations near the central city of Yavn Tel Aviv. The collection of 425 complete gold coins, most dating to the Abbasid period around 1,100 years ago, is a "extremely rare" find. (AP Photo/Sipa Press, Heidi Levine, Pool)
The coins are an “extremely rare” find, Israel Antiquities Authorities archaeologists Liat Nadav-Ziv and Elie Haddad said in a joint statement.

The discovery was among the largest caches of ancient coins found in Israel.


Israeli archaeologist Shahar Krispin cleans gold coins that was discovered at an archeological site in central Israel, Tuesday, Aug 18, 2020. Israeli archaeologists have announced the discovery of a trove of early Islamic gold coins during recent salvage excavations near the central city of Yavn Tel Aviv. The collection of 425 complete gold coins, most dating to the Abbasid period around 1,100 years ago, is a "extremely rare" find. (AP Photo/Sipa Press, Heidi Levine, Pool)

Robert Kool, a coin expert with the antiquities authority, said an initial analysis indicates the coins date from the late 9th century, considered the golden age of the Abbasid Caliphate that controlled most of the Near East and North Africa.

“Hopefully the study of the hoard will tell us more about a period of which we still know very little,” Kool said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Frank Miles is a reporter and editor covering geopolitics, military, crime, technology and sports for FoxNews.com. His email is Frank.Miles@foxnews.com.

[Bob Riebe]

I would never make it as an archeologist, some of those coins would have accidentally fallen into my pocket , taken home and melted.

[Graybeard]

Melted they are only worth the going rate on gold. Intact they are likely worth several times the gold value in them.

[ironglows]

Melted they are only worth the going rate on gold. Intact they are likely worth several times the gold value in them.

  Right you are, Bill..but I suspect Bob was considering that gold as a plain bar, is not so traceable. 

[Argent 88]

snorkelling off Italy once we found a few old Roman coins. Nothing gold and not worth a whole lot but still pretty  Cool.

[ironglows]

Only thing I found like that overseas, was one day when I was swimming in Dahn Lake in Germany, my foot came upon something "round".  Dahn Lake doesn't have a rocky bottom, so I retrieved what my foot found.
  It was an old Nazi helmet (stahlhelm) from WW2.   This was only 19 years after WW2, but the left rear edge was partially rusted off !
  Gave it to my section chief's son, who was collecting that stuff !

[Argent 88]

I took the coins to an appraiser and he told us what the images on them were. About around circa mid fifth century AD, and were made of a pewter alloy. It wasn't unusual for folks to find them because they weren't worth anything anymore back then. And were tossed away like we sometimes do with penny's. About the same size as a penny also, I only found five of them.

Two of them had the image of Romulus on them, the last Roman emperor of the Western Empire. They were probably in a cloth purse a fisherman had when he threw them overboard.