The coins in this digital exhibit come from the collection of Dr. John Wilson, professor emeritus of religion and dean emeritus at Pepperdine University’s Seaver College. The collection of over 1200 coins is intended to provide scholars, students and numismatists access to artifacts illustrating and illuminating the “Holy Land”—the world in which the three “Abrahamic Faiths” (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) find their roots. These coins date from the Persian period (c. 5th century BC) to the time of the Crusaders (c. 14th century CE). Presented here is the portion of the collection dating from the Persian Period through the 3rd Century, AD. Some of the coins were minted in countries which border the traditional Holy Land and had significant interaction with that area. The coins were selected for their historical and cultural significance, not their rarity or state of preservation (though many are extremely rare and some display considerable esthetic beauty). They align with Dr. Wilson’s decades of archeological research in Israel, particularly his participation in excavations at Capernaum in Galilee, and Caesarea Philippi (modern Banias).
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