A rare ancient Cypriot silver coin dating to the mid-5th century BC was found last month on a beach in Ashdod, Israel, t...

A rare ancient Cypriot silver coin dating to the mid-5th century BC was found last month on a beach in Ashdod, Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced. It is the first coin of its kind ever discovered in the country. The coin was spotted by Avi Tsaprak, deputy director of the Ashdod Beach Authority, while he was scanning the shore for items lost by beachgoers. He handed it over to the IAA's Coin Department, which confirmed the significance of the find. Researcher and curator Yaniv David Levy explained that the coin initially appeared to be solid silver, but closer examination revealed it was base metal plated with silver, a known technique used in Cypriot coinage of that era because of the island's shortage of silver. The coin weighs roughly 11 grams and was minted during the period of Persian Empire rule over Cyprus, according to the Jerusalem Post. Experts traced its origin to the ancient city of Salamis on Cyprus's eastern coast. According to Greek mythology, Salamis was founded by the archer Teucer, half-brother of Ajax and a veteran of the Trojan War. One side of the coin shows a ram looking left. The other shows a ram's head inside a square frame, alongside a vertical laurel branch and three symbols written in the Cypriot syllabic script. Levy noted that coins of this size and value from the Persian period are exceptionally rare because they were typically cut into smaller pieces over time for use in local trade. Finding one intact on a coastal site, he said, carries particular historical significance and may shed light on trade networks of the ancient Mediterranean. #Cyprus #AncientHistory #Archaeology