Sometimes we detectorists come across coins and artefacts that are not stunning in appearance or even in very good condition. In fact I'd say on the whole this is very common indeed. But now and then something is found that fits these categories but can delightfully be said to be rare or even quite exceptional. In the last few days I had a coin just like this.

A crisp flute like signal revealed a silver coin at around 8 inches down in freshly dug out clay. Strangely it reminded me of ancient coinage I had seen whilst out in Jordan. It was a Roman coin and despite being in poor condition it was twice the size of any silver coin from this period I had found before. I think it must have been in poor condition when it was lost as it took some very careful cleaning to pick out the features. Fortunately enough could still be discerned.

Later research showed that it was an issue of the Emperor Trajan being a silver Tridrachm of Caesarea, Cappadocia (Bostra?). Bostra is in modern day Syria and was the most northern capital of the Nabataeans. How ironic that I had considered Jordanian coins when I first saw this coin, as the Nabataeans had built the city of Petra that I went to see whilst in Jordan.


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