Huge Iron Age haul of coins found
Posted on 01/18/2009 2:24:46 PM PST by BGHater
The largest hoard of prehistoric gold coins in Britain in modern times has been discovered by a metal detectorist in Suffolk, it emerged today.
The collection of 824 gold staters was found in a broken pottery jar buried in a field near Wickham Market.
Jude Plouviez, of the Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, said the coins dated from 40BC to AD15 and were thought to have been minted by predecessors of Boudicca - the Iceni Queen who spearheaded a revolt against occupying Roman forces.
Their value when in circulation had been estimated at a modern equivalent of between £500,000 and £1million, she said.
“This is the largest collection of gold coins from that period ever found in modern Britain,” said Ms Plouviez.
“It's a good, exciting find. It gives us a lot of new information about the late Iron Age, and particularly East Anglia in the late Iron Age.
Ms Plouviez said the find was the largest collection of Iron Age gold coins found in Britain since 1849, when a farm worker unearthed between 800 and 2,000 gold staters in a field near Milton Keynes.
ping.
What are the laws in the UK? Does the finder or the owner of the property where these coins were found own them?
Or are they automatically the property of the State (as is the norm in many countries)
Just for clarification, what is considered “pre-historic?” To me that’s before written word and record keeping. 40 BC really isn’t “pre-historic” is it?
Anyway, that is an amazing find!!
Pre-historic....pleeaaaase....
So much for gold as a store of value.
Now, if you had bought some of those Roman 2000 year zero coupon bonds...
For something from a "pre-historic" era, they seem to know quite a bit of history of that era
OK. WHat if I found “treasure” 20 years ago and buried it in my secret place, then found it again?
just don’t report it.
In England one has to turn over to the government any such find. The government then makes a determination as to value and gives you the money. It has to be an amount that has some relation to actual market value or these things would never get turned in. They would find their way onto the private market, if only for the gold content. Actually some probably do go that way. We don’t hear about those, though.
In England one has to turn over to the government any such find. The government then makes a determination as to value and gives you the money. It has to be an amount that has some relation to actual market value or these things would never get turned in. They would find their way onto the private market, if only for the gold content. Actually some probably do go that way. We don’t hear about those, though.
Here is more info:
“Under English law a landowner has sole title to any archaeological artifacts found on his or her property. Legitimate metal detectorists come to an agreement with the owners of the land they detect on to share any proceeds from treasure sales.
“The Treasure Act of 1996 is an Act of Parliament designed to deal with finds of treasure in the United Kingdom. It legally obliges finders of objects which constitute a legally defined term of treasure to report their find to their local coroner within fourteen days. An inquest led by the coroner then determines whether the find constitutes treasure or not. If it is declared to be treasure then the owner must offer the item for sale to a museum at a price set by an independent board of antiquities experts. Only if a museum expresses no interest in the item, or is unable to purchase it, the owner can retain it.
Many thanks to all of you that replied.
While on the surface the law seems OK, I still do not like it.
I fully understand the need of a country to preserve its heritage but a fairer law would have been to let the proceeds go to auction and have the goverment match the winning price.
This process is already in place in the UK when it comes to paintings. Whenever a Lord or Lady wants to sell a work of a Master (you see this headline all the time) the National Board (or whatever it is called) always tries to buy it at market price.
The point is that the market price is fairly determined by the MARKET and not some “independent” board
Capitalism at work! :)
Cheers to my UK friends who posted.
Its pre-historic were Britain was concerned. Not much is known about historic individuals and events that took place in Britain prior to the Roman conquest, because the Iron-Age population had an oral tradition, not a written one, so apart from the odd fleeting reference by an ancient roman or greek writer prior to this time, anything that can’t be gleaned from archeology is pretty much lost in the mists of time......
“While on the surface the law seems OK, I still do not like it.
I fully understand the need of a country to preserve its heritage but a fairer law would have been to let the proceeds go to auction and have the goverment match the winning price.”
How would that work? It goes into auction, then when the winning bidder comes up to collect his new artifacts, the government comes and says ‘OK, so we know what these are worth now, so we’ll match his price and take them off your hands. Oh, sorry mate, looks like you wasted your time bidding for these things.....’
It would that metal detectorists who had not come to a written agreement with the landowner might find themselves in a poor legal position.
Yes, pretty much like that. That is standard in many business contracts. Called “Right of First Refusal”
That would ensure a fair price be paid for an object and also ensures that a country has the right to save its patrimony.
As regards the high bidder of the auction, BEFORE he/she goes in, they are told that the Goverment has the right of first refusal. If they so wish they can pay a price that the goverment cannot match
They may be old but not prehistoric.
Romans were very good recorders.
But I wish they had been in my back yard.
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