Israel finds 3000-year-old counterfeit coins, the first example of financial fraud

Archaeologists have found coins in the southern Levant in Israel that are about 3,000 years old and may be an example of the very first financial fraud. The primitive coins, dated from 1200 to 950 BC, contain silver, a lot of copper and other materials that were probably added on purpose to make them look like silver.

This was reported by The Times of Israel.

"A small percentage of the silver in coins was mixed with other substances, including arsenic, to make them look like silver. This strengthens the hypothesis that at least in some part of the period it was a deliberate forgery," the researchers said.

Such forgeries were found in eight sites where archaeological work was carried out, including Beit Shean, the Megiddo, and Ashkelon.

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"In addition to the fact that there was a deliberate attempt to give the metal the color of silver, we found that in previous finds from 1150-1200 BC, the percentage of copper was higher and the amount of arsenic was very similar in each fragment. This looks like organized activity and supports the assumption that these are counterfeit silver coins," the researchers said.

In the period from 1200 to 950 BC, trade routes from Turkey, Greece, Iran, Sardinia, and Spain were not working, leading to a shortage of silver.

"It is likely that they used and add copper to money that already existed in the area from previous periods," the publication notes.

As a reminder, divers have found an ancient treasure dating back a thousand years in Israel .

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