A 13-year-old girl from Modi'in found a rare ancient coin last week during a family hike in the Judean Hills. Talya Ben-David noticed something shiny next to the path and picked it up. "At first I thought it was an old bottle cap," she said. "Then I saw letters on it."
Her father photographed the coin and sent the picture to the Israel Antiquities Authority. Experts there said that it was a bronze coin from the time of the Great Revolt against the Romans, about 2,000 years ago. On one side there is a picture of a vine leaf, and on the other side there is a jar. The words on the coin are in ancient Hebrew letters.
In Israel, ancient objects belong to the state, and people who find one must report it. Talya and her family brought the coin to the authority's offices in Jerusalem. As a thank-you, she received a certificate for good citizenship.
Archaeologists say that hikers, farmers and children find important objects every year. "Talya did exactly the right thing," said one of the experts. "If she had kept the coin at home, we would have lost important information about the place where it was found."