Yesterday, Israeli archaeologists announced that a hiker had found a Roman coin from the early 2nd century CE. Stuart Winer writes:
The coin carries an image of Emperor Augustus, . . . who ruled from 27 BCE until his death in 14 CE, and was minted by Emperor Trajan in 107 CE. Only the British Museum in London has another coin like it, which, until the recent discovery, was thought to be the only one in the world. . . .
Trajan ordered coins struck with images of previous Roman emperors to honor their memory. . . .
According to Donald T. Ariel, head curator of the coin department at the Israel Antiquities Authority, “the coin may reflect the presence of the Roman army in the region some 2,000 years ago—possibly in the context of activity against Bar Kokhba’s supporters in the Galilee—but it is very difficult to determine that on the basis of a single coin.” Bar Kokhba led an ultimately doomed Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in the land of Israel between 132 and 136 CE.
Read more on Times of Israel: http://www.timesofisrael.com/hiker-finds-2000-year-old-gold-coin-in-northern-israel/