Israel Unveils Rare 1,900 Year-old Roman-era Coin

This picture taken at the office of Israel's Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem on July 26, 2022 shows a 1850-year-old rare coin depicting the moon goddess recently recovered from the sea off the Carmel coast in the northern city of Haifa. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli archaeologists on Tuesday displayed a rare and "remarkably well preserved" Roman-era coin dating back nearly 1,900 years, depicting the moon goddess Luna, the first such find in Israeli waters.

The coin minted in Alexandria in present-day Egypt featuring the zodiac sign Cancer below Luna and the era's Roman emperor, Antoninus Pius, on the other side, was discovered by archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority during explorations off Haifa in northern Israel.