Janho Coin Collection

The Janho Coin Collection was donated to the Special Collections and Archives in 1985 by Furman alumnus Khalil Janho ’75. Consisting of 117 coins, the collection ranges in date from c. 3100 BCE to c. 640 CE. Most coins originate from provinces of the Roman Empire, with a few pieces from ancient Greece and Judaea, one from medieval Arabia, and one from 20th-century Palestine. 

Story of the Janho Family / by Special Collections student assistant Caroline Vereen ’10

The story of the Janho family, who generously donated a large portion of their antiquities collection to Furman, is almost as incredible as the artifacts themselves. As a wealthy and influential family of Palestinian Christians, the Janhos endured many hardships while living in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Khalil Janho’s father Abdul-Nur Janho was a “middle man” who did not identify with the cause of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) or agree with Israeli officials who ignored the Palestinians living on the West Bank. In February of 1978, after Khalil and his brother Rajae, ’77, had graduated from Furman, the PLO gunned down and assassinated Abdul-Nur for his cooperation with the Zionist occupation authority and his statements against the PLO. Around 1,500 people attended his funeral.

Seven years later, in May of 1985 Khalil donated the antiquities in the Janho Artifact and Coin Collection to Furman. These artifacts represent only a portion of those that Khalil and his father had collected over the years, however, before Khalil could send more to Furman, the Israeli government confiscated all of the family’s antiquities, pottery, over 100 pounds in silver, and $600,000 in cash claiming that the Janhos had no right to any of it. Prior to this action the Israeli police arrested and held both Khalil and his mother Anna Janho for questioning, accusing them of acting as go-betweens in helping residents of the occupied territories obtain special privileges. Anna was held for six days in a cell with no light or water but was not brutalized. Khalil was held for twenty-two days in a room with 24-hour lighting and only cold water, interrogated, and beaten when he did not respond. During the questioning, two of his teeth were broken and he was stabbed in the lower abdomen with a writing pen.

The Janhos represent only one incredible family among many in the Furman community who chose to give generously to the University. Today Khalil still lives in Ramallah, while his brother Rajae lives in the United States and practices medicine.