Priceless Gold Coin Discovered During Excavations at Tel Kedesh in Northern Israel
A priceless 2,200-year-old gold coin was discovered last month during excavations at Tel Kedesh in northern Israel. The gold coin is believed to have been minted in Alexandria by Ptolemy V in 191 BC. The head of the coin depicts Arsinoe II Philadelphus, wife of Ptolemy II–the king of Egypt from 283 BC to 246 BC, and the tail side features an inscription of her name and two overlapping cornucopias decorated with fillets. The coin is believed to be a testament to the staying power of a cult established by Ptomely II in honor of his late wife due to the fact it was minted 80 years after her death.
“This is the heaviest gold coin with the highest contemporary value of any coin ever found in an excavation in Israel,” says Dr. Donald T. Ariel, head of the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority. “It is possible the coin had a ceremonial function related to a festival in honor of Queen Arsinoe, who was deified in her lifetime. The denomination is called a mnaieion, meaning a one-mina coin, and is equivalent to 100 silver drachms, or a mina of silver.”
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September 8, 2010
Posted in: Israel