Teen stumbles on mysterious coin from legendary city, puzzling archaeologists over its journey

The coin, which dates to the third century B.C., was uncovered by a 13-year-old male student in the district of Spandau, an area not typically associated with ancient Greek artifacts.

PETRI Berlin, an archaeology center in the German capital, announced the find in April. 

The organization said that finds from classical antiquity "are generally rare in Berlin."

The release noted, "While Roman objects can be identified occasionally but regularly, Greek finds had previously been entirely absent."

It went on, "The current discovery therefore represents a scientific rarity."

The coin's front side depicts the head of the goddess Athena wearing a Corinthian helmet, while the reverse shows Athena Ilias, the local Trojan form of Athena, with a woven basket known as a kalathos.

"Initially, it was unclear whether the find came from an archaeological context or was a modern collector's item that had been lost," the organization's release stated.

"However, an examination of the site by specialists revealed clear evidence of long-term use of the area as a burial ground. Ceramic fragments, cremated remains and a bronze double button indicate a Bronze Age or early Iron Age cemetery."

The low-value coin was likely left as a grave offering, said Jens Henker, an archaeological heritage officer with the Berlin State Monuments Office.

Henker told Fox News Digital that the boy who found it "was simply out playing in his usual area" before stumbling on the coin by accident.

"Because he is interested in old coins, he probably [had] an eye for that and took it with him ... without knowing what he found," he said.

Henker added that how the coin ultimately made its way to Berlin remains unexplained.

"Because we have amber from the Baltic Sea in Ancient Greece, there were clearly trading connections as early as the Bronze Age," he noted. "The coin could have simply been a traded good."

There was likely some contact between ancient Greeks and Germanic tribes, but the extent remains unclear.

"At the end, we have many guesses and questions, but one thing should be recognized: there were connections between these ancient peoples, perhaps more than we can imagine today."

"The connections between the Roman Empire and the German tribes was a much more intense one, mainly [because] the members of the German tribes [were] often used as helping troops for the Romans," he said.

The official underscored the significance of the find, saying his team "was never expecting such a find, although we wished it!"

He added, "For Berlin, it is the first find, but not for the area of Brandenburg around Berlin."