On the Italian island of Pantelleria, located between southwestern Sicily and the coast of Tunisia, a team of archaeologists led by Thomas Schäfer from the University of Tübingen has discovered a “tesoretto” of 27 Roman silver coins during a campaign of cleaning, restoration, and excavation coverage in the Acropolis of Santa Teresa and San Marco. […]
Coins
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Persian Gold Coins Used to Pay Mercenaries Found in the Ancient Greek City of Notion
A team of researchers led by Professor Christopher Ratté from the University of Michigan has uncovered a treasure trove of Persian gold coins in the ancient Greek city of Notion, located in western Turkey. The find, consisting of a collection of gold coins known as darics, is believed to have been used to pay mercenary […]
Posted inModern Era
Latin Monetary Union, the First Attempt to Create a Supranational Currency, which Operated until after World War I
We all remember the night of December 31, 2001, because at the stroke of midnight, we not only entered another year but also adopted a new currency, the euro, and some rushed to ATMs to see and touch the freshly printed bills from the European Central Bank. The idea of an international currency unification was […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Mystery of Abundance of Silver Coins in Medieval England Solved: they came from Byzantine Empire
Between 660-750 AD, Anglo-Saxon England saw a major revival of trade and commerce. This led to a huge increase in the use of silver coins, moving away from just gold. Archaeologists have found around 7,000 of these old “pennies” made of silver. That’s a massive number, almost as many as from the entire Anglo-Saxon period […]
Posted inAntiquity
Eucratides I, the Greco-Bactrian King who Minted the Largest Gold Coin of Antiquity
Eucratides I was a monarch of the Hellenistic period who ruled the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, located in present-day Afghanistan, between 172 and 145 B.C. Coming from the Diodotid dynasty, which had been overthrown by Euthydemus I, he managed to regain the throne from Demetrius I while the latter was attempting to conquer the northwest of India. […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
A Rare Intentionally Broken Persian Coin and a 6th Century BC Weight Unearthed
Archaeologists in Israel have made an exciting discovery that provides new information about one of the earliest uses of coins in the region. During an excavation of a site from the First Temple period in the Judean hills, workers uncovered some uncommon evidence of trading from the distant past. The most notable find was an […]
Posted inAncient Greece, Archaeology
A Spectacular Treasure Trove of Rare Greek Coins from Between the 6th and 4th Centuries BC and Other Objects Found in Ancient Tenea
In October 2023, the systematic archaeological investigation in Chiliomodi (Corinthia region, Greece) concluded, at the site of ancient Tenea, under the direction of archaeologist Dr. Elena Korka and conducted by the Directorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture. The excavation, among other things, revealed for the first time this year a […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Rare Byzantine gold coin found in Norway, probably brought from Constantinople by Harald Hardrada
A metal detectorist discovered in the county of Innlandet, in inland Norway, a rare histamenon nomisma (literally standard coin), a Byzantine solid gold coin, minted in Constantinople around the year 960 AD. The coin was found in the mountains of Vestre Slidre municipality and has been exceptionally well-preserved given its appearance, as it looks practically […]
Posted inMedieval Archaeology
Pouches Full of Vandal and Ostrogothic Coins Lost by Pilgrims Discovered in the Ancient City of Marea in Egypt
Researchers from the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Warsaw have examined thousands of coins discovered in the ancient city of Marea, located 45 kilometers southwest of Alexandria. Their findings are reshaping the established understanding in literature about monetary circulation in Egypt at the end of antiquity. Marea, known as Filoksenite during the Byzantine […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
3,000 Coins and 50 Gems Dedicated to Deities Found in the Ancient Roman City of Claternae
A series of significant discoveries has recently been revealed during ongoing archaeological excavations at the site of the ancient Roman city of Claternae, located in the municipality of Ozzano dell’Emilia in the Emilia-Romagna region, about 15 kilometers southeast of Bologna. Last Tuesday, an event was held where the Undersecretary of State for the Ministry of […]
