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'ANCIENT SHEKEL' FIND IS ONLY A FACSIMILERegarding the coin found by an Israeli girl discussed last week, David Hendin writes:The girl who found the ancient shekel--the coin wasn't even a forgery - it was a one sided facsimile made at a summer crafts program at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Ha! Joke's on us. Thanks. But the story isn't over. Here are excerpts from some of this week's articles on the topic. Aaron Oppenheim of Montvale, NJ sent this update
from Israel International News. Thanks. -Editor
Dr. Haim Gitler, chief curator of Archaeology and the curator of Numismatics at the Israel Museum called the Times of Israel to inform it of the mistake, the news website reported. “There is no chance that it is authentic, it is not an ancient coin. Even to call it a coin is to exaggerate what it is,” Gitler told the Times of Israel, adding that the markings on the “artifact” discovered by the girl are 100% identical to the mold at the museum. “Whether it was 2016 or 2015, that’s more the question,” he also said. The archaeological unit of the army’s Civil Administration unit, or COGAT, currently is possession of the coin. Its authenticity or lack of authenticity still will have to be officially verified, according to the report.
Aaron adds: And here's a video of the actual "minters" at work! I personally found it to be a wonderful way of introducing the coin minting process to youngsters. Thanks! -Editor
To watch the complete video, see: Here's an excerpt from the original Times of Israel story. -Editor
 For more than 20 years, children visiting the Israel Museum in Jerusalem during the winter festival of Hanukkah have had the opportunity to go home with an “ancient” coin. Struck by the kids on a small mint in the museum’s Youth Wing, the souvenir is an exact, albeit one-faced, replica of an ancient coin. Perhaps too exact, it turns out. International media, including this journalist at The Times of Israel, reported last week on the find of a rare 2,000-year-old half-shekel by 8-year-old Halamish girl Hallel Halevy. It turns out that this “coin,” far from being ancient and significant, is one of tens of thousands of these one-faced souvenirs minted at the Israel Museum over the past two decades. The Times of Israel was alerted to the misidentification on Sunday morning by Dr. Haim Gitler, chief curator of Archaeology and the curator of Numismatics at the Israel Museum. To read the complete article, see: Even politicians had to backpedal on this one. -Editor
A 2,000-year-old coin promoted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as proof of the Jewish people's connection to the Israeli-controlled West Bank has been found to be a souvenir reproduction. "This exciting discovery is additional evidence of the deep connection between the people of Israel and its land - to Jerusalem, to our temple, and to the communities in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu said of the coin on Facebook Sunday, using the biblical Hebrew term for the West Bank. Ancient discoveries are not uncommon in Israel and the West Bank. Earlier this month, Israeli authorities uncovered a 2,000-year-old workshop for stone vessels in northern Israel. But this "discovery," first reported by Israeli media, turned out to be one of thousands of cheap souvenir coins minted by the Israel Museum. The post was deleted on Monday from Netanyahu's Facebook page. To read the complete article, see: Thanks also to Donn Pearlman, Arthur Shippee and others who reported this story. Here are some additional links. -Editor
To read the complete articles, see:  Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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