US returns ‘exceedingly rare’ coin worth $1 million to Israel | CNN (2024)

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US returns ‘exceedingly rare’ coin worth $1 million to Israel | CNN? ›

A coin dating back to a Jewish rebellion against Roman rule almost 2,000 years ago has been returned by the US to Israel following a joint smuggling investigation.

An ancient silver coin dating from the First Temple period was recently discovered at a site in the Judean Hills southwest of Jerusalem, along with a stone shekel weight and other items, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Wednesday.

JERUSALEM (AP) — American authorities have returned a rare, 2,000-year-old Jewish coin to Israel nearly two decades after it was looted, smuggled and put up for auction in the United States, Israel's antiquities authority announced Tuesday.

1911 Canadian Silver Dollar

This coin is the epitome of rarity, with only three known to exist. Known as the “Emperor of Canadian Coins,” one of these exceptionally rare coins sold for over a million dollars in 2010.

1849 Double Eagle Gold Coin

The one remaining specimen is carefully preserved at National Numismatic Collections at the Smithsonian Institution. The 1849 Double Eagle is currently the rarest and most valuable coin in the world, with an estimated value of around $20 million.

Biblical account

The Greek text uses the word dēnarion, and it is usually thought by scholars that coin was a Roman denarius with the head of Tiberius. It is this coin that is sold and collected as the "tribute penny", and the Gospel story is an important factor in making this coin attractive to collectors.

Known as a "histamenon nomisma," this type of small coin was first introduced around A.D. 960. It shows Jesus holding a Bible on one side and the images of Basil II and Constantine VII, two brothers who both ruled the Byzantine Empire, on the other, according to a translated statement.

13 (Xinhua) -- A nearly 2,000-year-old coin from the Roman period in ancient Israel was discovered about 15 km west of Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Wednesday. The coin was found by two 12-year-old boys who were hiking at the Beit Itab ancient ruins site in the Jerusalem mountains.

One new sheqel (NIS 1) coin. sheqel, monetary unit of Israel. The sheqel (plural: sheqalim) is divided into 100 agorot. Israel's current monetary system, based on the New Israeli Sheqel (NIS), was established in 1985, when the old sheqel was replaced at a rate of 1,000 old sheqalim to 1 new sheqel (NIS 1).

The shekel (sheqel in direct transcription) replaced the Israeli pound (Hebrew: לִירָה, lira) in 1980. Its currency symbol was ⟨ ⟩, although it was more commonly notated as ש or IS. It was subdivided into 100 new agorot (אגורות חדשות). It was replaced in 1985 by the new shekel, due to hyperinflation.

What coin is worth over $1,000,000? ›

1943 Bronze Lincoln Penny. Now we're getting into some serious money. The 1943 Bronze Lincoln penny has gone for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it could go for as much as $1 million in perfect shape, according to Urban Aunty — as long as it's missing a mint mark (and thus from Philadelphia).

Morgan Silver Dollars, minted between 1878 and 1921, are some of the most sought-after dollar coins. With their captivating design featuring Lady Liberty on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse, they are not just coins but artifacts of American history. The 1893-S Morgan Dollar is particularly prized.

Currently, with the exception of the one sold on July 30, 2002, 1933 double eagle coins cannot be the legal possession of any member of the public, as they were never issued and hence remain the property of the United States government.

1870 $3 S Indian Princess Head Gold

One of the rarest and most unique coins in the world, the 1870 S Indian Princess Head Gold $3 piece is truly one of a kind. The San Francisco Mint struck just a single copy, which was supposed to be placed in the cornerstone of the facility's new building that same year.

The Akragas Decadrachm is one of the rarest ancient coins. Fewer than ten are known to have survived from antiquity. It is one of the great coins issued during the 5th century on the island of Sicily. These cities were among the earliest to begin minting silver coins.

The bronze lepton (or prutah), the smallest denomination of Judean currency, was in circulation at the time of Jesus, when one widow donated two of them. The earliest of these would have been 100 years old. The coins of Herod the Great were also lepta (prutahs), however.

Tyrian shekels, tetradrachms, or tetradrachmas were coins of Tyre, which in the Roman Empire took on an unusual role as the medium of payment for the Temple tax in Jerusalem, and subsequently gained notoriety as a likely mode of payment for Judas Iscariot.