Major Discovery Highlights Gold’s Long History A Money

Originally appeared on GoldSilverBitcoin

A major discovery of more than 2,000 gold coins off the north-central coast of Israel could prove to be a part of the largest gold hoard ever found in the eastern Mediterranean, say archaeologists. The discovery highlights the long history of gold as money.

The coins have been identified as dinars, which was the official currency of the Fatimid caliphate that ruled parts of the Mediterranean from AD 909 to 1171.

The coins were found in early February when a team of six sport divers found what they initially mistook as a few toy coins on the seabed near the ancient harbor of Caesarea.  The divers immediately notified the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Divers from the IAA’s Marine Archaeology Unit accompanied the group back to the site and were stunned at what they had found.

We were told [that the divers] had found about 30 or 40 coins,” says Jakob (Koby) Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit. “Usually that means you’ve found a hoard. So we went back and performed a small excavation. After two hours, we had found something like one thousand coins.

“We were shocked,” he said. “We were so incredibly excited, but when you’re underwater, you can’t talk to each other. It was only when we surfaced and pulled out our regulators that we could scream with happiness.”

A thousand more coins were recovered from the site last week, which places the find as at least five times as large as what has been considered the largest known gold coin hoard ever found in the country: 376 Fatimid dinars discovered in the city of Ramle in the early 1960s.  The recent find could count as the largest find of gold coins ever reported in the eastern Mediterranean.

Fatimid dinars feature names of the caliphs under whom they were minted, as well as the date and location where they were minted. ”They’re first-class historical documents,” contends Robert Kool, curator of the IAA’s Coin Department.

The empire reached its height in the mid-tenth to mid-eleventh centuries AD, when Fatimid dominion reached across North Africa and Sicily to the Levant, enjoying trade ties all the way to China. With its capital in Cairo, the caliphate controlled access to gold from sources in West Africa to the Mediterranean.

The earliest coin from the heard was minted in Palermo, Sicily, while the majority were minted in Egypt and other parts of North Africa and date back to the reigns of Caliphs al-Hakim (AD 996-1021) and his son al-Zahir (AD 1021-1036). The coins are two different denominations – whole dinars and quarter dinars – and are various weights and sizes. Initial tests indicate that they are 24-karat gold with a purity of nearly 95 percent.

“The amount of currency minted under the Fatimids is truly staggering,” says Kool. “It was truly a monetary society. People got paid.”

Some of the coins are in mint condition, while others are circulated. Several coins show tooth marks, which represents a bite test to attain authenticity.

Researchers will attempt to figure out why so much gold was found on the seafloor. The most likely explanation seems to be shipwreck.

What makes The TDV Newsletter so valuable is its keen knowledge of macro-and-micro economics events and theories. While your parent’s economic advisors and stockbrokers adhered to the Keynesian paradigm, TDV’s monthly Dispatches and Newsletter sees the world through the episteme of Austrian Economics, something every person curious in economics, politics and culture should be familiar with. Austrian Economics understands the driving force behind liberty, slavery, economic indicators, stats and players.

Because this year is going to be a chaotic one, as foreseen by the TDV Staff, Editor-In-Chief Jeff Berwick and senior analyst Ed Bugos are dedicating themselves almost full-time to bringing paid subscribers the best information they can receive in 2015, which could prove to be an ever important year in The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI).

What’s more you will receive invaluable and private placings in some of today’s most exciting companies.

Subscribe to The Newsletter today, and receive TDV’s HomeGrown, as well as special reports, including Getting Your Gold Out Of Dodge.

If you’re interested in receiving articles beyond what you read here everyday, consider our weekly subscriber-only publications, like our Issue, Dispatches, and Homegrown. You may subscribe here.

HOW TO FREE YOUR TAX CATTLE

March 16, 2015

Post by TDV Chief Editor, Jeff Berwick

The following video is of James Corbett, of the Corbett Report’s, keynote speech from Anarchapulco.  It is well worth the watch as it is funny and informative and offers a feeling of hope for the future.

continue reading…
 

NO TRANSPARENCY FOR YOU! THE WHITE HOUSE EXCLUDES ITSELF FROM TRANSPARENCY

March 17, 2015

Post is by TDV Chief Editor Jeff Berwick

The US government has a day for pretty much everything.  Yesterday, for example, was “Freedom of Information Day”.  We celebrated it, at our house, by laughing.

continue reading…

LIBERTARIAN LONELINESS: WHY LIBERTARIANS HAVE PROBLEMS HOOKING UP

March 18, 2015

FED SPEAK INTERPRETATION 101: HOW TO INVEST INSIDE A COMMUNIST SYSTEM

March 19, 2015

Post is by TDV Chief-Editor, Jeff Berwick

They don’t really teach you how to invest in skool… adding that to countless other important things to know that they don’t want to teach you, like how the money system works, how to use logic, how to think for yourself and self defence.

But, today, I was thinking about what “Investment 101″ in college would be like today.

continue reading…

STICK TO TRADING, PAUL TUDOR JONES: THE PROBLEM IS GOVERNMENT NOT CAPITALISM

March 20, 2015

The following post is by TDV Chief-Editor, Jeff Berwick]

Renowned trader, Paul Tudor Jones, recently gave a TED speech where he said, correctly, that income inequality in the US is at an all-time high.  He went on to state, correctly again, that this trajectory will eventually end in “revolution, higher taxes or war”.

continue reading…

VIDEOS

ANARCHAST: RIGHT SAID FRED! I’M TOO SEXY FOR THE STATE

In this, our 200th episode, Jeff interviews musician Fred Fairbrass of Right Said Fred fame, topics include: the fame game, celebrity culture, ego, Right Said Fred’s upcoming movies, alternative media, the illuminati, making a living in the music industry, intellectual property, the lawyers always win, Anarchy, submission to authority, airport ‘security’, a convenient enemy, Ferguson, massive taxation and Jesus as an Anarchist!

ANARCHAST: JUDD WEISS: THE LIBERTARIAN PAPARAZZI!

Jeff interviews voluntaryist, objectivist and libertarian photographer Judd Weiss, topics include: Ayn Rand, Objectivism, Nathaniel Branden, The Psychology of Self Esteem, the self esteem movement, how to be a better you, taking responsibility, living with integrity, liberty appeals to the best within us and the best of us, Anarchism vs Objectivism, are governments even necessary? free market solutions, Bitcoin, the Sidekick app, the Peacekeeper app, photographing the Libertarians…

The Dollar Vigilante is a free-market financial newsletter focused on covering all aspects of the ongoing financial collapse. The newsletter has news, information and analysis on investments for safety and for profit during the collapse including investments in gold, silver, energy and agriculture commodities and publicly traded stocks. As well, the newsletter covers other aspects including expatriation, both financially and physically and news and info on health, safety and other ways to survive the coming collapse of the US Dollar safely and comfortably. You can sign up to receive our FREE monthly newsletter, our Basic Newsletter ($15/month) or our Full Newsletter ($25/month) with specific stock recommendations and updates at our Subscriptions page on our website at DollarVigilante.com.