When hiking you might be thinking you may be lucky if you see a deer, a pretty bird, or a nice sunrise.
Laurie Rimon was hiking with her friends in eastern Galilee which is in northern Israel. After they arrived at an archaeological site and noticed something shiny in the grass when she got closer she noticed it was, a gold coin. They called the Israel Antiquities Authority which sent out a representative to for the coin. (Winer, Stuart 2016)
It was not just any gold coin, it was a 2,000-year-old Roman one with a picture Emperor Augustus who founded the Torman Empire and ruled between 27 BCE and 14 CE on the side. Although bronze and silver coins of this Emperor are common in Israel the gold ones are very rare. Only two other golden coins from this Emperor have been registered by be State Treasures- one from Jerusalem and another from Kiryat Gat and both of those have different details in the design from the one Laurie found. (Winer, Stuart 2016)
Laurie Rimon said it wasn’t easy for her to give up such an amazing find at the archaeological site but thanks to her actions others will be able to enjoy this as well and it was very appreciated. The Israel Antiquities Authority plans to award Laurie for calling them about finding it instead of keeping it for herself with an official certificate that shows appreciation for her virtuous actions as a citizen of Israel. (Winer, Stuart 2016)
Many of us may be familiar with the phase “finders keepers” but just because you find something when no one else was around doesn’t mean you should just keep it if it is not yours. And since it was found near an archaeological site just sitting on top of the grass where people already put in time and effort for research it would be good to say you found it. It was a nice thing to do.
