Rare 2,500-Year-Old Cypriot Silver Coin Discovered on Ashdod Beach Offers Fresh Clues to Ancient Maritime Trade
A rare silver coin from ancient Cyprus, dating back to the mid-5th century BCE, has been unearthed on a beach in Ashdod, Israel — the first known discovery of its kind in the country, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced Sunday.
The coin, a Siglos weighing roughly 11 grams, was found by Avi Chaprak, deputy director of the Ashdod Beaches Department, while he was searching for items lost by visitors. Chaprak handed the artifact to the IAA's Coin Department, where researchers confirmed its rarity and historical significance.
“At first glance it looked to be made of silver, but a closer examination showed it to actually be of metal that was only plated with silver — a known phenomenon in Cypriot silver coins from this period, given the shortage of silver on the island,” said Yanniv David Levy, a researcher and curator at the IAA’s Coin Department.
Experts traced the coin’s origin to the ancient city of Salamis, on Cyprus’s eastern coast. According to Greek mythology, Salamis was founded by Teucer, the half-brother of Ajax and a veteran of the Trojan War. The coin was minted during the Persian Empire’s rule over Cyprus and features a recumbent ram on one side, and a ram’s head inside a square frame on the other, accompanied by what is believed to be Cypriot syllabic script and a laurel branch.
“Coins of this size and value from the Persian period are rare altogether in the archaeological record,” Levy added. “Usually, silver coins of this size were not preserved intact. Over time, they were cut into small pieces for use as local trade currency. Furthermore, evidence of such use is known mainly from inland sites in Israel. Therefore, the discovery of a complete coin from the coastal area is thus unusual on all accounts, and of special historical importance.”
Dr. Evangeline Markou, a senior researcher at the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation and an expert in ancient Cypriot coinage, noted from Athens that while Salamis coins circulated across the eastern Mediterranean in the 5th century BCE, “finds with an exact provenance are rarer, and therefore this coin potentially offers significant information about trade ties and movement between Cyprus and the Land of Israel during this period.”
Levy echoed that view, emphasizing that the precise circumstances of the discovery allow researchers to use the coin as a reliable source for understanding the economic and maritime links that connected the region some 2,500 years ago.
Chaprak was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the IAA for reporting the find. “I am happy that I was privileged to be part of a discovery of historical value,” he said. “For me, it was clear that the coin belonged to our collective heritage, so I immediately delivered it to the Israel Antiquities Authority. If through this act I contributed another small piece towards the research and history of the Land of Israel, then that is a great honor for me.”
Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu praised Chaprak’s responsible action, noting that the coin’s discovery on the Ashdod coast is “tangible evidence of the maritime and commercial ties that existed between the Land of Israel and Cyprus some 2,500 years ago.” He added: “The public’s cooperation in reporting on antiquities makes it possible to preserve the heritage assets that belong to all of us, to deepen knowledge about the country’s past, and to ensure that the finds will be preserved and studied for the benefit of future generations.”
The coin will now be preserved and studied as part of the IAA’s national collection, where it is expected to help archaeologists refine their understanding of trade routes, currency circulation, and cross-cultural exchange in the ancient eastern Mediterranean.