I’m sorry if this is a repost: The silver coin engraved with a cup and the caption ‘Israel Shekel’ and the letters: Shin and Bet (the second year of the Great Revolt) (Eliyahu Yanai/City of David) The silver coin with an engraving of the headquarters of the High Priest and the inscription ‘Holy Jerusalem’ (Yaniv Berman/City of David and the Israel Antiquities Authority) “The coin, found by an 11-year-old girl, Liel Krutokop, during a sifting project for dirt removed from an archaeological dig at the City of David National Park, was engraved with “second year,” i.e., the second year of the Great Jewish Revolt against the Romans (67-68 CE).” “This is a rare find, since out of many thousands of coins discovered to date in archeological excavations, only about 30 coins are made of silver, from the period of the Great Revolt,” said Kool. My question: Is this find really significant because the coin is silver (tapping into the city’s silver reserve) or is it just an interesting story? https://www.timesofisrael.com/rare-...-at-temple-2000-years-ago-found-in-jerusalem/
Worth a few thousand even in that condition. Well centered and with visible legends. Hope she keeps it and is not tempted to sell. Would make a great story at parties
Antiquities are usually kept in museums. I believe she would be rewarded for the find and given recognition also. I would be surprised if she were able to keep it. Just my opinion.
Of course this coin must remain part of the numismatic material from the archaeological site. The girl was just helping sifting dirt from the dig.
I don't know what the general feeling is about people finding coins and feel that they have to tell someone about the find. I don't think I am a dishonest person, but there are so many items, buildings, etc. that have a great many items that have been unearthed. They write a paper about it for some journal and it is given/taken by a museum and MAY be put in a case with a little piece of paper telling about the item. After a while, the item is no longer interesting, so they put it in a box, catalog it, and then lock it away. I have seen so many articles on things that are found and you never hear about it again. I know that many countries have laws about turning "finds" over to some authority. Unless I was surrounded by people, if I found a coin, I would carefully wait until no one is looking, slip the item in my pocket. I, too, would research the item and write a note about it and then put it in my safe and tell no one. I read about a man that had found something of value. He hid the item with his other coin collection. Eventually, he told his wife what he had found. His wife didn't think it was that important, so one day, she told some friends about it. I few days later, the police knocked on his door and confiscated the item and took him to jail. I don't know about you, but these stories intrigue me. I couldn't find anything like what I just wrote, so I made up the above story. The purpose is to be very careful about who and what you tell someone, especially family. It doesn't have to be an item you found, it may be a coin you bought. During WW II, the had a motto.. "Loose Lips Sink Ships." Protect your hobby, whether it is coins, baseball cards, or stamp. If it has value, someone would try to get it, even your child.
And one day some scholar will want to study it for his PhD or some research project. Analysing the metal, listing all dies of this emission, etc. There are hundreds of good reasons to keep these documents accessible for researchers.
So True!!! In my youth, I unearthed a flintlock pistol and I turned it over to the City Museum. They cleaned it up and put it on display, accrediting it to me. Later on, I took my children to the museum and proudly showed them the item and the attribution. A few years ago, I returned to the museum (on a nostalgia trip) but alas, my pistol had gone. It was in the vault. Worse still, most of the displays had been reduced to 'digital images'. The kids of today might relate to pictures of the past, but I lament the passing of a time when we could actually see the items even if we couldn't touch them. (Long live coin collecting.)