If Coins Could Only Speak

December 3, 2006

The vaults of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) currently houses more than 130,000 coins. No, they are not your every day shekel or dime. These marvelous pieces form an integral part of the archaeological treasures of the State of Israel.

Every year, new coins are added to the collection as the Land yields its treasures from the numerous excavations taking place.

The variety of coins in the collection travel through time, from the invention of coinage in the seventh century BC through to the 17th century AD, a time span of 2,300 years. Coins and artifacts after that date are not considered antiquities under Israel’s Antiquities Law. But if coins could only speak…they could tell of their travels, the variety of goods and services they purchased, the hands and pockets they shared.

The department has more than 150 hoards of gold, silver, and bronze coins, beginning from the Persian period through to the Ottomans. The Qumran hoard of silver coins is a prize they protect. The early coins in this specific hoard were minted in Tyre and included tetradrachms of Antiochus VII Sidetes and Demetrius II Nicator (136/135–127/126 BC), as well as six Roman Republican denarii from the mid-first century BC.

The bulk of the Qumran hoard represents the continuation of the Seleucid mint – the well-known series of Tyrian shekalim and half-shekalim, minted from 126/125 BC onward. These are the same coins that were prescribed in the Second Temple period for the poll tax and other payments.

The majority of coins preserved by the IAA Coin Department are single finds from small and large excavations. The exceptional importance of the collection lies in the fact that the provenance of almost all the coins has been ascertained. This makes the collection one of the largest scientific numismatic databases of its kind in the world, which opens opportunity for in-depth study of coin types and distribution patterns.

The experts at the IAA have exposed counterfeit coins and are meticulous in their rigid standards. The coins still find time to travel. They are used for lectures, scientific consultation, and move about to exhibits in Israel and overseas under the wise care of the IAA Coin Department staff.

History is real. Lives were lived. The coins remind us of that reality, and their very existence gives the past wonderful substance.

Source: By Ron Ross, Israel Mosaic Radio