Ancient Cypriot Silver Coin Unearthed on Israeli Coast

A rare 2,500‑year‑old Cypriot coin was found on the beach of Ashdod, Israel, by Avi Tsaprak, deputy head of the city's Beaches Department, who was collecting lost items along the shoreline. Tsaprak handed the artifact to the Israeli Antiquities Authority, where specialists identified it as an exceptionally rare silver‑gold alloy siglos minted in the ancient city of Salamis in eastern Cyprus during the mid‑5th century BC, a period of Persian rule.

The coin, weighing about 11 grams, was initially thought to be solid silver, but analysis revealed a base metal core with a silver coating – a technique used in Cypriot minting due to local silver shortages. Yaniv David Levi, curator of the Antiquities Authority's coin department, noted that large Persian‑period coins are very uncommon in archaeological finds, especially whole specimens from coastal sites. Evangelin Markou, a specialist in ancient Cypriot coinage at Greece’s National Research Foundation, emphasized the historical significance of discovering a complete coin on the Mediterranean coast. Tsaprak received a certificate of recognition from the Antiquities Authority for his contribution.