The Saul A. Fox National Coin Center and Collection comprises of more than 120,000 coins, spanning a period of some 2,300 years, from the invention of coinage in the 7th century BCE, to the 17th century CE.
The majority of coins are single finds from large and small excavations. In addition, the collection includes more than 150 hoards of gold, silver and bronze coins, beginning in the Persian period through to the Ottoman period. The collection’s exceptional importance lies in the fact that the provenance of almost all the coins has been ascertained. Consequently it constitutes one of the largest scientific numismatic data-bases of its kind in the world, ideally suited for in-depth study of coin-types, distribution patterns, and intra/inter-site circulation. The nucleus of the collection is comprised of a group of 10,000 coins acquired by numismatists from purchases and excavations between 1925 –1948.