‘We can’t take any of this for granted’: Gaza’s fight to keep its treasures safe at home

Here's a five day old article on efforts to preserve antiquities in Gaza, as well as the challenges of artifacts and coins flowing out of the area.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...azas-fight-to-keep-its-treasures-safe-at-home

I didn't know that large gold medallion of Diocletian, auctioned in January, allegedly came from Gaza.

 

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Thanks for sharing. The story links the Alexander Dekadrachm Hoard (here's a news story) that was dispersed at major auction houses a few years ago. (They link the BBS documentary, which is well worth watching, whatever your opinions on relevant policy.)

I try to be conscious of where coins come from (i.e., in recent decades) if they're from this region or other political sensitive/contested regions. I do have a couple of coins that were struck and/or found in this region. (The AR fractions don't seem to have traveled but stayed local.)

This one comes from the Samaria Hoard, published in 1991 by Meshorer & Qedar:

"Middle Levantine" Series. Silver Obol or "Ma'eh" (8mm, 0.57 g, 12h). Struck in Samaria, c. 4th cent. BCE.
Obv: Laureate male head right with light beard; dotted border.
Rev: Female head left with headdress (and earring?); legend off flan: šmryn (see Sofaer 58).
Refs: Meshorer & Qedar (1991) 71 = Samaria Hoard 165 = Athena Fund II 972 (this coin illustrated); Meshorer & Qedar (1999) 187 = Wyssmann (2019) Spec. i (this coin cited).
Prov: Ex-Samaria Hoard (before 1990, CH 8.587 = CH 9.413), No. 165; Athena Fund Sale (Part II, Sotheby's, 27 Oct 1993), Lot 972; Stack's (3-4 Dec 1996), Lot 708 (part); Jay M. Galst (1950-2020) Collection (his tag illustrated); Triton XXV Online Session (11 Jan 2022), Lot 6169.​

It was probably found in Samaria in the 1980s. Parts were acquired by the Israel Antiquities Authority, and the full hoard was published by a Chief Curator & Archaeologist with the IAA (i.e., Meshorer), but I'm not 100% sure of the legal status of the ones that ended up in private hands.

People have occasionally suggested it is another portion of the similar 1968 Nablus Hoard -- though that doesn't seem right in my reading -- which was apparently uncovered in the West Bank after the Six Days War.


A lot of our coins were struck or tend to be found in regions where governments make claims to them. I am more sympathetic to some countries' claims than to others'. But I don't think I would enjoy owning a coin knowing that Gaza authorities believed it was recently looted. The minimal recompense received by the locals interviewed for the BBS documentary about the Alexander Dekadrachms would make me feel even worse about it.

 

That's a nice obol, with wonderful detail!

That's a good point regarding the Gaza coins, especially since the decadrachms were of such high value. The whole issue of hoards and individual coins coming out of the region is fraught with questions about the uncertainty of the circumstances of discovery, who was involved in the removal of the coins and how the coins move through the ecosystems that feed the ancient coin market. To the average collector this is a very opaque system. The coins simply appear, on online sales or at auction, usually with vague, at best, attributions. More often this information is totally lacking.

I can go on and talk about how our digital age has accelerated the flow of coins at an almost dizzying rate into the market. Just think about the volume in our time and compare that with, say, coins offered back in the 80s and even the 90s, the days before the Internet entered the world's stage. Now, it is almost impossible to keep up with the numerous e-auctions, not to mention major venues such as eBay and retailer sites such as MA Shops and VCoins.

The bottom line is that vast numbers of coins of anonymous origin are now available, increasing access to coins to collectors (think Athenian classical owls). But there is also a darker side to this world, one that is the underside of the world of ancient coins.

 

It is incredible that an exceptional never seen before gold medallion of Diocletian can legally be auctioned in a civilized country without any provenance at all ! It just fell from the truck, that's it? And I suppose the origin of the buyer's money makes no interest at all, either...
I don't know if such a medallion was found in Gaza. Never heard of a late 3rd c. gold hoard being found there lately, but of course I do not pretend to be aware of everything they find...
About the Alexander hoard, the authorities were able to seize a part of it, including a few decadrachms, that had not yet been smuggled out of the Gaza strip.