quarter shekel
US returns ‘extremely rare’ $1 million coin to Israel
The coin was presented to Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, at a repatriation ceremony
© Miri Bar / IAA
A coin minted about 2000 years ago found its way across several countries back to its origin in Israel.
A coin dating back to the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule some 2,000 years ago has been returned to Israel by the United States. The very rare quarter shekel, minted in AD 69, is estimated to be worth more than $1 million, according to the Manhattan Attorney’s Office.
The quarter shekel symbolizes independence from Rome during the revolt that ended with the siege and mass suicide at Masada in AD 73. The coin was presented to Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, at a repatriation ceremony.
“We are honored to return the quarter shekel, an extremely rare coin that holds immense cultural value. Despite the complexity of this investigation, our team of prosecutors, analysts and agents working with Israeli authorities were able to recover this antique in just a few months Locate,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg. “In this year alone, we have returned nearly 400 antiques to countries around the world and look forward to many more of these ceremonies in the future.”
Coin once looted in the Ella Valley in Israel
This coin was once lost through looting and was smuggled through several countries and sold to unwitting buyers with false origins, according to Ricky J. Patel, a Homeland Security (HSI) agent involved in the investigation. “This return was only possible through the expertise and investigative work of HSI agents around the world, who worked with antiquities experts and our partners at the Manhattan and Israeli Attorney’s Offices to ensure we reclaimed this important artifact and brought the people of can give back to Israel,” he summarizes.
In 2002, the Israel Antiquities Authority learned from several informants that the quarter shekel had been looted in the Ella Valley in Israel. The Israel Antiquities Authority spent the next two decades trying to find the coin. During this time, the coin circulated on the illegal antiques market in and around Israel until it was smuggled into Britain via Jordan.
Finally, in London, false provenance papers were prepared to export the quarter shekel to the United States, where it was put up for sale at an auction scheduled for August 3, 2017. There it was confiscated by the state and taken over by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit (ATU) of the Manhattan District Attorney.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said in an interview with the broadcaster CNN that they only knew of one other similar quarter shekel – namely a coin that was acquired by the British Museum in the 1930s. However, it is assumed that “about three” more are circulating on the black market.
Sources: Manhattan Attorney’s Office, CNN