Approximately 450 ancient and counterfeit coins were seized last week in a raid on the home of an east Jerusalem resident suspected of smuggling and illegally selling antiquities, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said in a Thursday statement on social media.
The raid was jointly conducted by IAA’s Robbery Prevention Unit, the Israel Police, and the Border Police.
The collection, hidden in a flowerpot on the suspect's balcony, included coins from the Hasmonean, Herodian, and Roman periods, the IAA said, noting that several of the pieces had already been set into pendants and jewelry.
In addition to the coins, professional photography and coin-cleaning equipment were also found in the east Jerusalem home, the IAA added.
“One of the pendants held what appeared to be a counterfeit sela coin from the first year of the Bar-Kochva rebellion,” Ilan Hadad, an archaeologist and inspector in charge of commerce at the IAA, said.
“If authentic, it would have been considered a rare find, worth quite a large sum. As it appears to be a forgery, its worth is significantly less.”
According to Hadad, purchasing antiquities from questionable sources not only pays for the services of antiquities dealers and looters, but also finances “the erasure of the history of the Land of Israel.”
“Ancient coins bear dates on them, and finding them at a site allows us, the archaeologists, to date the site where they were discovered,” he explained. “With this, removing ancient coins from antiquities sites severely damages our ability to learn about our heritage.”
Antiquities robbers caught digging in ancient Roman burial cave in Galilee
In mid-January, the IAA’s Robbery Prevention Unit and the Israel Police apprehended four antiquities looters digging inside an ancient Roman-period burial cave near Hittin, on the edge of the Arbel Valley.
The suspects caused severe damage to the site, which is located in a protected antiquities area.
After being taken to Tiberias for questioning, the suspects claimed they had come to the area to “hunt porcupines and pick mushrooms,” but eventually admitted to using digging tools inside the burial cave.
“Any damage to an antiquities site is a direct damage to our ability to study the past and pass it on to future generations,” Nir Distelfeld, supervisor of the Antiquities Authority’s robbery prevention unit in the north, said.
“Burial caves and ancient sites are one-time sources of knowledge, and it is heartbreaking to see the destruction done for the sake of money.”
Pesach Benson/TPS contributed to this report.