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Thursday, May 19, 2022

Vast haul of antiquities recovered in Israel

APPREHENDED: Huge Cache of Stolen Antiquities Found in Central Israel. Cuneiform tablets, jewels, and 1,800 coins, including one bearing the name of Shimon Bar Kochba, found in antiquities trader's house in Modiin (Ruth Schuster, Haaretz).
Ancient cuneiform tablets, a bronze figurine, jewelry, seals, and no less than 1,800 coins were seized from the home of an antiquities trader in Modi'in on Sunday by police working with the Israel Antiquities Authority theft prevention team.
Among the coins:
One rare item was a silver "shekel" coin from the time of the First Jewish-Roman War in 67 C.E., the IAA stated. It bears the legend "Holy Jerusalem" in Hebrew on one side with the image of a bunch of three pomegranates. The other side says "Shekel Israel Year 2" (the letter bet) and the image of a goblet.
Another Year 2 silver shekel was excavated in Jerusalem last year. I'm not a numismatist, but it looks to me to be of the same design as the newly recovered one.

In 2016 a Year 2 silver shekel sold for $5,280, while ten years ago a Year 1 silver shekel sold for $1.1 million. I don't know how much the newly recovered coin is worth. Much depends on its condition and how rare its features are.

Cross-file under Numismatics.

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