Sometimes it pays to have your head down. An Israeli hiker visiting an antiquities site stumbled across a gold coin dating back to 107 AD.
To hear Laurie Rimon tell the story, the coin was just lying in the grass. Officials with the Israeli Antiquities Authority say the coin was minted by Emperor Trajan and there is only one other like it currently at the British Museum in London.
Rimon was taking a break during a hike in eastern Galilee when she noticed a glimmering in the grass.
“I picked it up, didn’t recognize it and thought maybe it was a toy,” she said on a video by the IAA. “I showed it to a few of the other women around and they said ‘Laurie you’re a millionaire, it’s amazing, it’s ancient, it’s gold’.”
Danny Syon, a coin expert with IAA, said it was significant on a global level.
“It was part of a series of nostalgic coins that Emperor Trajan minted and dedicated to the Roman emperors that ruled before him,” Syon said.
The coin bears the image of Augustus, the first Roman emperor and was minted as a series to commemorate the early leaders just as many modern nations do today.
While the coin is likely worth millions, Rimon will receive a certificate of appreciation for the find, according to CBS News.
Photo credit: Times of India
