When you purchase through links on our situation , we may realize an affiliate military commission . Here ’s how it work .
An exceedingly rare " rainbow cup " coin minted more than 2,000 years ago by the Celts has been found next to a river in Germany , according to the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection .
The amber coin , minted in the 2nd or first century B.C. , features a uncommon intention of a four - pointed star surrounded by arches on one side , saidBernward Ziegaus , a aged curator in the State Archaeological Collection ’s numismatic section who is study the coin . Like other rainbow cups , the coin is trend .
The motif of the four-pointed star surrounded by four arches is rare, as there are only three known Celtic rainbow cup coins with this design.
" The name rainbow cup coins come from the legend that they are drop of Au that lessen to earth at the ending of a rainbow , " Ziegaus told Live Science in an email . " Another caption about these Gaelic coins tells us that these coin can only be found by Sunday minor , " or a shaver of luck .
" In fact , the finder was born on a Sunday and is indeed a Sunday fry , a lucky youngster ! " he said .
The discoverer , a collaborator with land archeological officials , discovered the coin this spring about 45 miles ( 70 km ) Occident of Munich on the Lech River in the southerly state of matter of Bavaria .
The “heads” side of the rainbow cup Celtic coin that displays a stylized human head.
Related:2,000 - yr - old Celtic hoard of atomic number 79 ' rainbow cups ' discovered in Germany
It ’s obscure how the 0.07 - oz. ( 1.9 g ) coin finish up there , but the spot is n’t far from a ancient route . This route went from what is now Trento in northerly Italy and later became know as the papistical route Via Claudia Augusta that went across the Alps , Ziegaus enjoin .
" Perhaps the coin was accidentally lost along the way , " he say .
The " head " side of the 0.5 - in - wide ( 13 millimetre ) coin " shows a stylized human head with a large eye , " with the nose and backtalk depicted as dots , Ziegaus enunciate . A metal analysis revealed that the coin is 77 % atomic number 79 , 18 % ash grey and 5 % copper .
There are only three known rainbow cups with the star - and - implike motif . " The interpretation of the need is hard , " Ziegaus said . " The whiz is perhaps a symbol for the four cardinal points , the arches are to be understood as signs for the skyline and the rear and setting of the Sun Myung Moon .
The ancientCeltswere savage warrior who lived in mainland Europe and later sacked Rome . Bavaria ’s oldest Celtic coins date to the third century B.C. , but the Roman conquest of the region in 15 B.C. led to the end of Celtic minting , Ziegaus said . After that , R.C. coins became the main currency in the region .
— 500 - year - old amber coins unwrap in a German monastery were ' in haste hidden ' during a ' dangerous office '
— Kentucky man finds over 700 Civil War - era coins bury in his corn field
— Buried hoarded wealth of 44 Byzantine gold coin found in nature reserve in Israel
" It is a wonderful find , even if it is only one coin . Because only very few specimens of this type are have it off so far , " saidMarjanko Pilekić , a doctorial candidate of archaeology of coinage , money and the saving in antiquity at Goethe University Frankfurt , who was not involve in the finding .
If more rainbow cups are regain in the area , " a photo of the [ up-to-dateness ’s ] distribution can be draw , ' Pilekić tell Live Science in an electronic mail .
The coin ’s view finder donated the rainbow cup to the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection in Munich . Because it is " extremely rare , " it will go on permanent display in the museum with other Gaelic coin treasures in 2024 , Ziegaus said .
