A 13-year-old schoolboy has uncovered a rare ancient Greek coin in a field on the outskirts of Berlin, later confirmed by experts to be more than 2,300 years old and the first of its kind ever found in the German capital.

The bronze coin was discovered when the teenager brought it to researchers during a November 2025 visit to Petri Berlin, an interactive archaeology site built on the remains of a medieval-era Latin school.

Archaeologists later identified the object as a Trojan coin minted between 281 and 261 B.C.E. in the ancient city of Troy, located in what is now western Turkey.

Experts say it is the first ancient Greek artefact ever found in Berlin.

Jens Henker of the Berlin Heritage Authority said the coin was initially so small that its origin was not immediately clear, though it was recognised as an ancient object.

A numismatist confirmed its origin, identifying imagery of the Greek goddess Athena on both sides of the coin.

One side shows her wearing a Corinthian helmet, while the other depicts her holding a spear and spindle.

Measuring just 12 millimetres in diameter, smaller than a modern dime, the coin was likely of little monetary value to local Germanic tribes at the time, who did not use a formal currency system.

Such items were often treated as metal sources or kept as burial goods.

The discovery site in western Berlin is already known to archaeologists, with excavations in past decades revealing evidence of burial activity dating back to the early Iron Age, along with ceramics, bronze objects and other artefacts.

Experts say it remains unclear how the coin travelled from ancient Troy to northern Europe.

One possibility is long-distance trade networks between Greek and European regions, while another suggests movement through migration or military recruitment involving Germanic peoples.

Similar ancient Greek coins have previously been found elsewhere in Germany, and archaeological evidence also shows the exchange of goods such as amber between northern Europe and the Mediterranean world.

Researchers say the find adds to growing evidence of early connections between ancient societies, though the exact path of the coin remains uncertain.