Israeli archaeologists working at a dig in the Judean Hills outside Jerusalem have found a very rare ancient silver coin more than 2,500 years old.
The coin is from the First Temple period (Solomon’s Temple), 2,550 years ago, during the Persian rule of King Cyrus.
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It was discovered during an excavation sponsored by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) as a highway construction project was going forward. A “characteristic ‘four-room house'” from the same period was also uncovered at the site in a different location from the coin.
The coin, which was minted outside Israel, was found cut in two, indicating that it had been weighed as a piece of silver, despite its original use as money.
Dr. Robert Kool, head of the IAA’s Numismatic Department, says only six such coins have been found in Israel.
“The coin was minted in a period when the use of coins had just begun. The rare find contributes information concerning the way trade was carried out, and the process whereby global commerce moved from payment to payment by weighing silver pieces to the use of coins.”
On the floor of the house, archaeologists also found a stone weight, which excavation directors Michal Mermenstein and Danny Benayoun say will shed light on how trade was conducted in that period
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