The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 12, March 21, 2005, Article 31

RARE CRUSADER COIN FOUND IN ISRAEL

According to a news article, "A rare Crusader coin dating
from the mid-13th century has been excavated by archaeologists
digging up a flea market in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, the Israeli
Antiquities Authority (IAA) revealed.

The silver half drachma has been dated to between 1251 and
1257 and is imprinted with a cross, fleur-de-lis and an Arabic
inscription of the Christian Trinity -- the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit, IAA said Wednesday.

"It is an extremely rare find and it is the first to be discovered
in excavation," Israel Museum numismatics expert Robert
Kool told AFP.

"Until now, we only had two of these coins out of the 150,000
in the museum," he added.

In 1250, a visiting papal legate was furious to discover that
Franks in the Latin East minted coins inscribed with the Prophet
Mohammed and requested the pope to intervene personally.

Pope Innocent IV banned the practice and threatened to
excommunicate all offenders. To circumvent the papal prohibition,
minters merely added Christian legends and symbols."

To read the original article, see: Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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