On May 13, 2020, a very rare coin from an ancient Jewish revolt against the Romans was discovered in Jerusalem, Israel. The ancient coin belongs to the time of the Bar Kokaba revolt, circa 132 CE ,(Common Era). or AD(After Death of Jesus Christ). The obverse (front side) shows a bunch of grapes and the words “Year Two of the Freedom of Israel”. The reverse side shows a palm tree and word “Jerusalem”. This coin is extremely, extremely rare with only a small number of such surviving. The coin is dedicated to Bar Kokaba who led a revolt against the Romans that failed to liberate the ancient province of Judea and its capital city Jerusalem from Roman occupation rule, and brought extreme suffering to the Jewish people from warfare, destruction, and slavery from encountering the wrath of Rome.
Doctor Donald Tzvi Ariel head of IAA (Israel Antiquities Authority) coin department gave a historical analysis of the coin. In 2018 in Israel, a hoard of ancient bronze coins were discovered by archeologists near the temple mount in Jerusalem. These coins are from the last attempts of an earlier Jewish revolt against the Roman rule. The Jewish coins date between 66AD and 70AD and were part of the personal possessions of the Jewish people that were hiding in a large cave during the war with Rome. After four years of Roman bitter attacks against the city of Jerusalem, the Romans savagely conquered the city and then destroyed the second Jewish temple.
On December 29, 2019, seven Islamic gold coins dating back to the seventh century were found in a broken clay jug at a large site southeast of the town of Yavne (Tel Yavneh) in the middle of Israel during an archeological survey for an intended residential construction. All those coins are gold dinars. One gold coin was made under the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun Al-Rashid of Baghdad. Iraq from 786 to 809 AD. The territory of the modern state of Israel was Abbasid controlled from the eighth to the tenth centuries. The other six gold coins were issued by the Aghlabid Dynasty in and around Tunsia in North Africa and by the ninth century were conquered by the Abbasid dynasty and the Aghlabid issued their coins under the name of the Abbassid empire. IAA coin expert Robert Kool gave the historical identifications of the coins.
On July 3, 2020, a very rare gold coin. dating back 1,600 years of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) was discovered in the fields alongside the Zippori stream in the Gailee region of Israel by a group of high school 9th graders Israeli teenagers.The ancient gold coin is a Solidus minted by the Roman emperor Theodosius 2 in Constantinople, Turkey around 420-423 CE (AD). One side of the coin has the image of the emperor and the other side depicts the image of the Goddess Victory holding the Staff of the Christian Cross. This gold coin is the first Theodosius 2 gold coin found in Israel. IAA numismatics expert Doctor Gabriela Bijovsky identified the coin.
The coin is now in the possession of the State Treasuries of Israel. On December 7, 2018, archeologists in Israel unearthed a trove of 24 rare gold coins and a 900 year old gold ear ring at a place where a Christian Crusader destroyed an Islamic army during the year 1101. This war was at the city of Caesarea on the coast of Israel. King Baldwin 1 of Jerusalem led the Christian Crusader army. The ancient artifacts were found in a small bronze pot, hidden between two stones in the side of a well located in the ruins of a 900 year old house. The gold coins are dated to be at the end of the eleventh century. IAA excavation directors Peter Gerdelman and Mohammed Hatar identified the age and history of the coins. Archeologist Doctor Eilat Mazar of Gebrew University, Israel discovered and then identified those coins.
