Hoard of gold coins found at ancient crusader site.

[powderman]

http://www.yahoo.com/_ylt=Au4o52TMawYRCZwA3w1WbxSbvZx4;_ylc=X3oDMTkwbGJmbTk5BF9TAzIwMjM1MzgwNzUEYQMxMjA3MTEgbmV3cyBnb2xkIGNvaW5zIGZvdW5kIHQEY2NvZGUDcHpidWZjYWg1BGNwb3MDMgRlZAMxBGcDaWQtMjQxNzM0MgRpbnRsA3VzBGl0YwMwBGx0eHQDQW5jaWVudGdvbGRjb2luc2ZvdW5kBG1jb2RlA3B6YnVhbGxjYWg1BG1wb3MDMQRwa2d0AzEEcGtndgMxOARwb3MDMARzZWMDdGQtZmVhBHNsawN0aHVtYmxpbmsEdGFyA2h0dHA6Ly9uZXdzLnlhaG9vLmNvbS9ob2FyZC1nb2xkLWNvaW5zLWZvdW5kLWlzcmFlbC1jcnVzYWRlcy0xMTQzMjY4NDEuaHRtbAR0ZXN0AzcwMQ--/SIG=12vko79pt/EXP=1342104934/**http%3A//news.yahoo.com/hoard-gold-coins-found-israel-crusades-114326841.html
 
 
 Hoard of gold coins found at Israel Crusades siteReuters – 3 hrs ago   
 

• View Gallery An Israel Nature and Parks Authority employee shows gold coins, which were unearthed during excavations at a Crusader fortress, near Herzliya July 9, 2012. An ancient jar containing a collection of 108 gold … coins dating back to the Mamluk era was discovered a week ago during a joint venture by Tel Aviv University and the Nature and Parks Authority aimed at exploring the layers of the almost destroyed fortress on the shores of the Mediterranean sea. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - A 1,000-year-old hoard of gold coins has been unearthed at a famous Crusader battleground where Christian and Muslim forces once fought for control of the Holy Land, Israeli archaeologists said on Wednesday.

    The treasure was dug up from the ruins of a castle in Arsuf, a strategic stronghold during the religious conflict waged in the 12th and 13th centuries.
The 108 coins - one of the biggest collections of ancient coins discovered in Israel - were found hidden in a ceramic jug beneath a tile floor at the cliff-top coastal ruins, 15 km (9 miles) from Tel Aviv.
"It is a rare find. We don't have a lot of gold that had been circulated by the Crusaders," said Oren Tal, a professor at Tel Aviv University who leads the dig.
Arsuf, which overlooks the Mediterranean sea, was the site of a famous 12th century victory for England's King Richard I - known as Lionheart - over Muslim leader Saladin.
About 80 years later, in 1265, the Muslim army returned under a different general, and lay siege to the city for 40 days. When the outer walls fell, the knights retreated to the castle, which was eventually destroyed.
The stash, Tal believes, belonged to the Knights Hospitaller who inhabited the castle. It may have been payment they were due to pay for leasing the land, or perhaps profits from industrial activities, he said.
The gold coins weigh about 400 grams (14 ounces) in total. Some were minted two centuries earlier in Egypt, and they will be studied over the next six months, Tal said.
"The study of these coins will contribute to our understanding of how large-scale economic interactions were made at the time," he said.
(Reporting by Rami Amichai and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Pravin Char)

[Conan The Librarian]

This is just amazing. Can you imagine finding something like that? I think there was another one within the past couple of years where some guys in England found a cache of treasure buried in a field. I hope they got to keep it. A lot of times the country takes it away from the person that finds it.
 
Mel Fisher (sp?) the treasure hunter had long court battles (which he eventually won) over some of the Spanish treasure he found in the sea.
 
If you haven't been to the Mel Fisher museum in Key West, definitely go there if you're in the area. It's very fascinating.
 
Sadly a few weeks after I went, some theives stole a gold bar from the place. It was a special gold bar weighing a couple of pounds. The had it in a very secure looking plexiglas housing where you could put your hand in and touch it and lift it, but not take it out. Very nicely designed, and it was a real treat to be able to touch some treasure like that. I was really saddened that it was stolen. I don't know if they ever got it back. That was about two years ago.

[Conan The Librarian]

Then there's this
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2171684/Repairman-finds-250-000-gold-stash-AC-unit--returns-it.html

[mechanic]

In England, the treasure is studied by the archaeologist, and if it is a relevant find for study or preservation, the finders are paid according to it's worth...otherwise it is returned to them.  Here if you find anything over 100 years old on public land, it belongs to the government...on private land, it belongs to the landowner.
 
Ben

[powderman]

I'd never seen a real gold coin except on tv shows  and the ones in the pic are very thin looking compared to what I'd imagined they would be. Still, I'd like to examine one up close. Just think of the history behind them. POWDERMAN. 

[Conan The Librarian]

I knew a mechanic that always had a sleeve of about 20 Krugerands in his pocket, really. He let me handle them once and they had a beautiful satiny feel to them, rather like the gold bar in Key West.