PREV ARTICLE
NEXT ARTICLE
FULL ISSUE
PREV FULL ISSUE
V11 2008 INDEX
E-SYLUM ARCHIVE
BYZANTINE GOLD COINS OF EMPEROR VALENS UNEARTHED IN EGYPT
Arthur Shippee forwarded this article about a find of two
rare Byzantine gold coins in Egypt.
Two rare gold coins from the
reign of Emperor Valens have been unearthed in Egypt. Archaeologists from
the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) carrying out a routine
archaeological survey at Sail Al-Tofaha area, west of Saint Catherine's
Monastery in Sinai, have chanced upon two gold Byzantine coins bearing the
head of Emperor Valens (364-378 AD). A number of grotto caves and
fragments of clay and glass have already been found in the area.
Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the SCA, described this discovery as unique because it is the first time that objects linked to that emperor have been found in Egypt. "Coins of Valens were previously found in Lebanon and Syria," Hawass said, adding that remnants of walls along with fragments of clay, glass and porcelain dating to the same era were also unearthed.
On the obverse side is an image of Emperor Valens wearing his official attire and an ornate crown decorated with two rows of pearls surrounding a gold cross. The reverse shows the emperor in military attire, holding in his left hand a staff with a cross and in his right a ball surmounted by a winged angel.
To read the complete article, see: Heads or tails? in the Al-Ahram Weekly.
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
