I would have just cleaned it off and put it away. The government doesn't need it and a museum will put it in a dusty closet or cabinet and show it off once for it too never be seen again. https://www.yahoo.com/gma/hiker-fin...y-2-173253219--abc-news-personal-finance.html
If you find something valuable like this don't talk about it, probably not even with your best coin buds.
Am I the only one who finds this suspicious? Some guy goes out hiking one day, and he finds ONE, not two, not three, not a hoard, but only ONE coin, and it just turns out to be not only gold, but also worth millions! That seems a bit unlikely.
In the UK two coins of precious metal constitutes a hoard. Lesser coins, ie bronze I believe it is 10 coins.
Beware using terms "loosely" they can give a whole different meaning to what you might mean Unless several coins have been deposited, then sure, single coins can be found. In a place like Israel, I am sure that the experts know what to look for, how a coin has survived in sand (for want of a better word) and how abrasion has effected the coin over several hundred years. It is entirely possible that one coin was found by the hiker, it will take further investigation by people with metal detectors to go around a large area of the find in order to determine whether there are other coins.
If you lived in Israel and found something while digging a hole to plant flower bulbs, admitting the true story could result in the antiquities people digging up your whole yard. If you found it 20 years ago, you might be in trouble. Finding it on a hike seems like a safe story. We will never know.
I agree! Better in your collection, finders/keepers! The govt. is suppose to work for us....we pay them, not the other way, where they run our lives.