Ancient Gold Coins Found In Kyrgyz Mountain Lake

Novosti ^ | 8-30-2006

[blam]

Ancient gold coins found in Kyrgyz mountain lake

16:34 | 30/ 08/ 2006

BISHKEK, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - Possibly the world's most ancient gold coin has been discovered in a high mountain lake in Kyrgyzstan, the chief of an archeological expedition said Wednesday.

Academic Vladimir Ploskikh said an expedition from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University found a 70-gram octagonal gold artifact on the northern side of Lake Issuk-Kul.

"This is probably the earliest form of metal money found in Central Asia, and may have served as an archetype for later gold coins," he said. "If this [hypothesis] is confirmed, the find will have a unique worldwide historical and cultural significance as a prototype for gold money."

The archeologists also recovered from the lake bronze daggers, sickles and hatchets, as well as household implements and jewelry dating back to approximately 1,000 BC.

Ploskikh said the finds could mark a "new page in history."

[freedomlover]

"Interesting, I wonder how they got into the lake."

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A drunken coin-skipping dare that went horribly wrong.

[BaBaStooey]

(Bush's fault)

[colorado tanker]

What civilization produced these artifacts?

[rahbert]

thats some series coin!

[SunkenCiv]

a 70-gram octagonal gold artifact on the northern side of Lake Issuk-Kul... The archeologists also recovered from the lake bronze daggers, sickles and hatchets, as well as household implements and jewelry dating back to approximately 1,000 BC.

No civ is known which made what we'd call coins until about 700 BC (Kingdom of Lydia, in Anatolia). My wild guess is, the octagonal gold artifact was some kind of decoration, an ostentatious show of success. This looks like it's on the silk route. Lake Issuk-kul probably got its name because the water is so cold. Little joke. [west end of Issuk-Kul]

[navyguy]

Nice points! Where are you located? Where did you find them?

[No Blue States]

Thanks..Im in Texas, all of those were found within 150 miles of the DFW area.

Rivers, lake shores, plowed fields, and ATV trails.

But the Paleos were found at a construction site.
There was no evidence of water nearby, strange...there must have been a spring back when they camped there because it was more than a hunting camp...too big for that.

A subdivision is there now, no doubt homeowners digging their flower beds have found a few nice ones.

[ASA Vet]

Oh keep clam, it's not like they found a cheese eating møøse.

[No Blue States]

lol

Someone made a very serious wish before tossing it into
the lake.

[colorado tanker]

It does seem rather high in elevation to be attractive to a purely agricultural community, so the Silk Road makes sense. Possibly connecting with trade routes to steppe peoples to the north as well.

[Cold Heart]

Most ancient coins & most ancient sandals, right here on FR

[blam]

"Most ancient coins & most ancient sandals, right here on FR"

You bet. We got'em.

[GoLightly]

Spring thaw can be a real b!tch sometimes...

[Ramius]

Kyrgyz

Maybe it will be worth enough to finally let them buy some vowels.

[freedomlover]

Spring thaw can be a real b!tch sometimes...

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My dad was raised in Chicago, but ended up a DamnYankee. He used to tell us stories about how as a kid he and buddies knew where to start poking around for lost change in melting snow. I don't know if that was BS but it sounded pretty cool to a Ga kid who rarely saw over an inch of snow.

[evets]

My precious!

[<1/1,000,000th%]

I've got a couple of the others.

Was it a nice coat?

[<1/1,000,000th%]

LOL!!

That's the first coin I thought of.

[GoLightly]

Did your dad ever say anything about the Polar Bear "club"? They only meet one day of the year. New Years Day, a number of people take a dip in Lake Michigan.

Most areas don't stay covered with snow all winter, every winter where I live & I'm north of Chicago. The big piles created by snow plows usually last all season, specially the ones by big parking lots. Can't say I ever found any buried coins, but finding the snow shovel again in the spring... snow plows seem to come around the moment you take a break from shoveling out the last batch of hard frozen joy they've ditched at the end of your driveway.

As soon as lakes freeze around here, many become populated with ice shanties, from the very basic to some quite elaborate dwellings. Every spring some of them fall through the melting ice.

Fish cribs are placed or built on the ice of some lakes. It's easier to get huge logs out in the middle of a lake when you can walk & drive your truck on the lake. In the spring, nature takes its course & the good game fish have a new place to breed.

Some of my Norwegian ancestors operated a couple of huge saw mills & a portion of handling logs involved sledding them. When you're talking about big timber for the ship building industry & horse power involved horses, a northern climate was very helpful.

I don't know if the lake in the article freezes over very often, cuz of its size. I couldn't ignore the possibility... Oh look, here's a nice flat place to build our village. :o)

[freedomlover]

My father's father was from Finland so you and I have something in common.

Don't know about the PBClub but I know I won't jump in a pool that is 60 degrees much less friggen freezing