LOST WONDER OF THE ANCIENT WORLD - Drachm Coin from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Clear Box with Certificate of Authenticity - Elymais ELAM Persian Drachma IRAN;

Lost Wonder of the Ancient World
Coin of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Coin is encapsulated and presented in clear box with story card & certificate of authenticity.

The lost wonder of the ancient world, the famed Hanging Gardens, were not located at Babylon, as originally thought, but at Susa, in the Biblical realm of Elam-or so some numismatists now believe. The answer to the riddle lies in the strange markings on this ancient Elymais coin.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is the only one of the original Seven Wonders of the World whose location has not been discovered by archeologists. Legend has it that the Gardens were built by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II as a gift to his wife. The problem is, there is no primary source for any such thing. The field of numismatics offers a new hypothesis: that the Hanging Gardens were south and east of Babylon, at Susa, in the ancient kingdom of Elam. If there were a place where a major attraction would be built to please a queen, it would be in Elam. Unique among the Greater Mesopotamian societies, the Elamites held women in high regard. Archeological evidence suggests that Elam was once a matriarchy, and its kings appeared to have had to descend from a favored mother in order to inherit the throne. Then there is the matter of the "pellets", the strange dash-like markings on the reverse of these coins that have long puzzled historians and numismatists alike. A new theory suggests that the pellets are stylized versions of palm fronds, artistic renderings of the plants in the Hanging Gardens. This coin, then, may comprise a missing piece to a millennia-old puzzle, pointing to Elam as the site of the lost Wonder of the Ancient World.

COIN:
Bronze drachm of Elymais
Weight: 2.4-3.7g
Diameter: 11.7-14.5mm
Obverse: Bust facing or sideways
Reverse: pellets

Box measures : 4 5/8" x 3 1/2" x 1/2"

GUARANTEED GENUINE