Divers stumble upon Israel's biggest ever discovery of 2,000 gold coins

from CNN

Nearly 2,000 gold coins were discovered in the ancient harbor of Caesarea, Israel.

The divers initially thought the gleaming object they noticed on the seafloor off the Israeli coast was a toy coin from a game.

But they quickly realized they had stumbled across something a whole lot more valuable in the ancient Mediterranean harbor of Caesarea.

Their chance discovery a few weeks ago led to a trove of nearly 2,000 gold coins that had languished at the bottom of the sea for about 1,000 years, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday.

It's the biggest hoard of gold coins ever discovered in Israel -- and it could lead to further archaeological finds.

"There is probably a shipwreck there of an official treasury boat which was on its way to the central government in Egypt with taxes that had been collected," said Kobi Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the antiquities authority.

He offered other theories about the origin of the treasure.

Perhaps the coins were meant to pay the salaries of a military garrison in Caesarea, Sharvit speculated, or came from a merchant ship that sank while traveling from port to port along the Mediterranean coast.

Marine archaeologists are planning to carry out salvage work at the site to find out more.

Coins from Shiite caliphate
The coins themselves come in several different denominations and are very well preserved, the antiquities authority said. The oldest of them is a quarter dinar minted in Palermo, Sicily, in the second half of the ninth century.

Most of the pieces, though, are from the Fatimid Caliphate, the Shiite Muslim empire that ruled large parts of North Africa and the Middle East around the turn of the first millennium.

Sharvit said he believed the coins, of various dimensions and weights, had been uncovered by winter storms.

He thanked the people who found the treasure -- members of a local diving club -- for quickly reporting their discovery rather than trying to keep the coins for themselves.

"These divers are model citizens," he said. "They discovered the gold and have a heart of gold that loves the country and its history."

I would LOVE to stumble upon some random gold coins!
I'm sure we will have cries of foul as to who owns the gold between countries BUT Whatta cool find!

I can honestly say with absolutely no guilt whatsoever that I would NOT turn them in.

I am a weak being, sometimes proud but always broke so there is not a doubt in my mind......

Peace

originally posted by: jude11
I can honestly say with absolutely no guilt whatsoever that I would NOT turn them in.

I am a weak being, sometimes proud but always broke so there is not a doubt in my mind......

Peace

I'm with ya!
I can honestly say...without a second thought...I would have to pocket a few hundred when no one was looking..

How does a diver "stumble"?

This article is weird. Not like other treasure stories we hear about. The back story is particularly unscholarly with some broad speculation as to the gold's origins.

Also the first time I've ever seen the word "caliphate" used in a historical application.

Something is not right.

Cool find..

Another nugget of history, I would love to find something like that just to hold a piece of true history in my hands for a bit.

Surely they must of kept a few, wouldn't do any harm.
I love seeing these big coin finds makes me wanna get the metal detector out and go treasure hunting.

originally posted by: SpaceWizard
Surely they must of kept a few, wouldn't do any harm.
I love seeing these big coin finds makes me wanna get the metal detector out and go treasure hunting.

Dangit! I have a metal detector and have been out treasure hunting and the only thing of "value" I found wasn't even buried. It was sitting next to a tree and I happened to stumble upon it.

a reply to: jude11

I can honestly say with absolutely no guilt whatsoever that I would NOT turn them in.

But you have to, in order to "cash them in".

The surprise on the numismatists face… priceless!

originally posted by: six67seven

originally posted by: SpaceWizard
Surely they must of kept a few, wouldn't do any harm.
I love seeing these big coin finds makes me wanna get the metal detector out and go treasure hunting.

It was sitting next to a tree and I happened to stumble upon it.

How do you "stumble" while "sitting".

People be trippin' on this thread.

originally posted by: Psynic

originally posted by: six67seven

originally posted by: SpaceWizard
Surely they must of kept a few, wouldn't do any harm.
I love seeing these big coin finds makes me wanna get the metal detector out and go treasure hunting.

It was sitting next to a tree and I happened to stumble upon it.

How do you "stumble" while "sitting".

People be trippin' on this thread.

I have a feeling you'll be editing your post if you re-read mine

"It"...... "It"

originally posted by: six67seven

originally posted by: Psynic

originally posted by: six67seven

originally posted by: SpaceWizard
Surely they must of kept a few, wouldn't do any harm.
I love seeing these big coin finds makes me wanna get the metal detector out and go treasure hunting.

It was sitting next to a tree and I happened to stumble upon it.

How do you "stumble" while "sitting".

People be trippin' on this thread.

I have a feeling you'll be editing your post if you re-read mine

"It"...... "It"

Aaaaaaah got 'it'!

Except, you don't mention what it was you found sitting next to the tree?

Was it a metal detector?

No mention of coin size?

originally posted by: jude11
I can honestly say with absolutely no guilt whatsoever that I would NOT turn them in.

I am a weak being, sometimes proud but always broke so there is not a doubt in my mind......

Peace

I am totally with you. You're not supposed to know this but among some circles thats still considered "legal tender" .. Or "as good as"

ETA: old coins below a certain size, not so much...

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa

originally posted by: jude11
I can honestly say with absolutely no guilt whatsoever that I would NOT turn them in.

I am a weak being, sometimes proud but always broke so there is not a doubt in my mind......

Peace

ETA: old coins below a certain size, not so much...

I'll take all those worthless little ones. thankyouverymuch.

a reply to: Psynic

Lol, each to their own. I am inclined to agree but not tonite

Would you would never wear medallion the size of the little ones would you? Am I rite? Or am I wrong?

Maybe they actually found 5,000 coins...

Nice find. A hoard of gold? I would sell it to a museum interested, not donate it. Museums should have first dibs on artifacts. If the museum doesn't want then some greedy coin collector somewhere would surely pay for them.

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa
a reply to: Psynic

Lol, each to their own. I am inclined to agree but not tonite

Would you would never wear medallion the size of the little ones would you? Am I rite? Or am I wrong?

I'm not a medallion kinda guy.

I've found tens of thousands of dollars of gold and jewels, including a gold coin ring, and returned it to it's rightful owner.

Nobody cares how big the coins were that get melted down into bars.

I guess not but they're not coins then anymore are they, theyre freaking bars lol

originally posted by: Psynic

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa
a reply to: Psynic

Lol, each to their own. I am inclined to agree but not tonite

Would you would never wear medallion the size of the little ones would you? Am I rite? Or am I wrong?

I'm not a medallion kinda guy.

I've found tens of thousands of dollars of gold and jewels, including a gold coin ring, and returned it to it's rightful owner.

Nobody cares how big the coins were that get melted down into bars.

Rumour has it a large enough gold coin still covers six months rent in all Georgian era homes