She was sifting through earth and found a rare coin of an Egyptian queen: only 20 in the whole world

While Israel remains focused on the tragic conflict in Gaza, life continues in many other parts of the country. In the middle of the Jerusalem Walls National Park – City of David, at the Givati parking lot excavation, archaeologists have uncovered an extraordinarily rare gold coin. Only about 20 of its kind are known worldwide.

It is also the first time such a coin has been found in an organized excavation, in this case led by the Israel Antiquities Authority. The small coin, made of 99.3% pure gold, dates back to between 246 and 412 BC, during the reign of Ptolemy III. On one side it shows a portrait of Berenice II, an Egyptian queen, wearing a tiara and veil, with a necklace around her neck.

The reverse features a cornucopia – a symbol of fertility and prosperity – with stars on either side. Surrounding the image is the Greek inscription “of Queen Berenice.” The coin will be formally presented at the City of David Research Conference in September.

The excitement of coin discovery

The find came in the most unexpected way: while site director Rebeca Leanger was sifting through buckets of soil at the Givati parking lot. “I was sifting buckets of earth originating in the excavation, and suddenly I saw something glitter. I immediately yelled, ‘I found a coin! I found a coin!’ In just a few seconds I realized that my hands were holding a gold coin. It is very exciting. I have been digging at the City of David for two years now, and this is the first time I found gold. There were always people at the excavation who found special finds, and all the time I said to myself: ‘When will I find something special?’” she told Israel Hayom.

Robert Cole, head of the Coin Department at the Israel Antiquities Authority, highlighted another striking detail: “This coin is the only one of its type discovered anywhere in the world outside of Egypt, the center of the Ptolemaic kingdom.”

Minted in Alexandria, it was likely distributed to Egyptian soldiers who fought in the Third Syrian War, a conflict between the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Seleucid Empire. The inscription reads “ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ” (“of the queen”) – unusual for coins of that period. What’s more, Berenice does not appear as consort to the king, but as ruler in her own right. This was a feature of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which lasted nearly 300 years, with Cleopatra being its most famous figure.

“A fascinating glimpse”

“The discovery of a rare gold coin in Jerusalem, from the time when the Ptolemaic kings ruled the country, provides us with a fascinating glimpse into the city’s standing at that time, and into the ties Jerusalem had with the center of rule in Egypt,” said excavation directors Yiftach Shalev of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Efrat Botzer of the Jerusalem Research Center.

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