New book in Mandarin on ancient Jewish coins

A CHINESE CHEF has published a new book on ancient Jewish coins in Mandarin:

Chinese chef’s main course: Ancient Jewish coins

By SHULA KOPF (Jerusalem Post)
03/14/2011 22:24

Xu Long, head chef at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, has literally written the book on Israeli coins.

One of the most passionate collectors of Israeli coins is the head chef in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. When Xu Long isn’t cooking Peking duck for visiting heads of state, he devotes his time to researching the history of Jewish coins.

It took him 10 years of painstaking study, but last November Xu Long published a 575-page hard-back on the subject, Money of Ancient Judea and Israel.

Ironically, his book, which is in Mandarin, is one of the most wide-ranging on the subject in any language.

“His book starts with the first coins ever minted in Judea during the Persian period in the fourth century BCE and goes up to the Jerusalem of Gold 24-carat bullion coin launched last year by the Bank of Israel,” says Arthur Boxer, CEO of the Israel Coins and Medals Corporation (ICMC). “He explains the story behind each coin.”

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