Huge Roman coin find for hobbyist

BBC ^ | 8 July 2010 | Staff

[csvset]

One of the largest ever finds of Roman coins in Britain has been made by a man using a metal detector. The hoard of more than 52,000 coins dating from the 3rd Century AD was found buried in a field near Frome in Somerset.

The coins were found in a huge jar just over a foot (30cm) below the surface by Dave Crisp, from Devizes in Wiltshire.

"I have made many finds over the years, but this is my first major coin hoard," he said.

After his metal detector gave a "funny signal", Mr Crisp says he dug down 14in before he found what had caused it. "I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little Radial, a little bronze Roman coin. Very, very small, about the size of my fingernail."

Mr Crisp reported the find to the authorities, allowing archaeologists to excavate the site.

Offering to gods

Since the discovery in late April, experts from the Portable Antiquities Scheme at the British Museum have been working through the find.

The coins were all contained in a single clay pot. Although it only measured 18in (45cm) across, the coins were packed inside and would have weighed an estimated 160kg (350lb).

"I don't believe myself that this is a hoard of coins intended for recovery," says Sam Moorhead from the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

"I think what you could see is a community of people who are actually making

[csvset]

The story of the excavation will be told in a new BBC Two archaeology series, Digging for Britain, presented by Dr Alice Roberts and made by 360production, to be broadcast in August.

There's a pic and a short video interview of Mr. Crisp at the source.

[csvset]

GGG Ping

[G Larry]

“Portable Antiquities Scheme” - An honest name for a gov’t office!

This should be a new parlor game in America....giving honest names to Obama’s new czar posts.

[squarebarb]

Thanks! Very interesting. Says the coins wereprobably an offerto the gods.

In the 3rd century it seems to me it wasmoreprobably a hoard?

[raybbr]

Boy, is the price of those coins going to drop.

[csvset]

Unless they have found some additional evidence to bolster that opinion, they’re guessing.

[NavyCanDo]

With the wave of electronic games taking over the World over the last decade my 8-year old must be the only kid in the U.S. who asked for a metal detector for Christmas. And Santa brought him one.

I'm going to have to show him this story. Right now he finds an old railroad spike or tire iron and you would thing he found the Lost Dutchman mine.

[jimfree]

A metal detector for your 8 y/o - Makes me hopeful for the future!

[Thermalseeker]

Boy, is the price of those coins going to drop.

Maybe not. Doesn't the UK gubmint usually take/seize a large portion of finds like this? If that happens it will keep most of them off the market.....

[Jeff Winston]

It’s unfortunate there aren’t any Roman coins in the U.S. But fortunately the generally better weather and relative freedom and economic opportunity (vanishing, but still here for now) tend to make up for that.

[Thermalseeker]

Right now he finds an old railroad spike or tire iron and you would thing he found the Lost Dutchman mine.

Around here (SE Tennessee) folks hunt Civil War relics with metal detectors. There was a battle that occurred not far from me called "Wheelers Raid" where Confederates ambushed a 1300 wagon Union wagon train as it was making it's way over Signal Mountain towards Chattanooga. People are still finding miniballs, belt buckles and buttons, occasionally cannon balls and cartridges, horse tack, etc. Indian artifacts, i.e., projectile points, gaming stones, drills, etc, are found fairly common here, too.

[Scythian]

"Because Mr Crisp resisted the temptation to dig up the coins, it has allowed archaeologists from Somerset County Council to carefully excavate the pot and its contents," said Anna Booth, local finds liaison officer.

Big mistake there, now the state and the "experts" will claim them as their own, had I found them I would have dug them up and went home. Stupid, stupid, stupid ...

[SES1066]

Doesn't the UK gubmint usually take/seize a large portion of finds like this?

Depends upon your definition(s). It works out to the equivalent of Eminent Domain here in the USofA, the Government is taking this but has to offer the "Market Value" of that which they are taking. Obviously the devil is in the determination of the value. Other considerations that come into play are the property owner's rights, the right to keep something and it's value as a historical artifact.

[Houghton M.]

And you would have realized value from them exactly how? Trying to sell a hoard of that size on the market would bring you to the attention of the authorities—how exactly would the coins do you any good sitting in your basement?

Yeah, I suppose you’d patiently sell one or two a year for a few thousand years. . . . Maybe three or four a year??

[NavyCanDo]

Around here (SE Tennessee) folks hunt Civil War relics with metal detectors.

Now that does sound like a cool thing to do. Not much Civil War stuff to find here in the Pacific Northwest.

[Scythian]

I would have held onto them until our economy crashes (matter of weeks) and then they would have been worth more than our useless greenbacks, heck with that many, I could form my own little economic system in our neighborhood, that would make me what? The Federal Reserve, ya, I’d a been sittin’ pretty ...

[Thermalseeker]

Not much Civil War stuff to find here in the Pacific Northwest.

I wonder if you could find stuff out on the beach? Folks in Florida find relics on certain beaches, sometimes Spanish gold and such, after big storms churn up the bottom. There might be stuff washing up on the beaches out your way after a big knock down drag out winter storm. With all the whaling that was done out there I would think there would be plenty of wrecks off shore providing stuff to be washed up and found. That would thrill a boy well beyond any video game.....me too, for that matter......

[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks csvset. 52,000 coins seems like kind of a lot. :') Either a Roman-era Silas Marner, or a gov't or temple or maybe military treasury? Now I gotta go read it. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[warsaw44]

and that is the problem with collecting Roman / ancient coins! Never know when a hoard will kill the value of ones collection.

If I remember correctly the value of a number of Morgan Silver dollars dropped when a hoard was discovered some years ago. It happens.

[null and void]

It’s unfortunate there aren’t any Roman coins in the U.S.

None that we've found yet, nor are we ever likely to, but never say never.

Wouldn't that be a kick?

Cherokees Spoke Greek and Came from East Mediterranean