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Rare evidence of medieval Rome's thriving community of Anglo-Saxons has been found close to the city's Palazzo della Rovere near the Vatican, according to a statement released by the University of Cambridge. The team has unearthed 20 coins, including 19 silver pennies and one halfpenny, minted by a son and grandsons of the Anglo-Saxon king -- and first king of England -- Alfred the Great. Scholars have long known about the Anglo-Saxon enclave in Rome. There are modern place names that preserve this legacy, including the embankment between the Tiber and the Vatican that is still called the Lungotevere in...

You may know King Harold II for one thing: losing the Battle of Hastings in 1066. But is this Harold's whole story? In 2023 a remarkable coin hoard was discovered in Yorkshire, England, that shows Harold in a different light. This is the first recorded hoard of coins which can definitely be dated to the year 1066. Containing only coins struck during Harold’s brief reign of 282 days, the hoard reveals a king whose authority was recognised across England, and whose government could produce new coins with great speed. Join Elina Screen, Curator of Medieval and Modern Coin Collections at...

While digging in their backyard, an accidental archaeologist in Denmark unearthed 18.5 kilograms (40.7 pounds) of silver treasure. The chance discovery is the largest known silver hoard from the Viking Age in the country and could prove invaluable in understanding this chapter of history. The treasure trove consists of 700 silver objects, including silver bars, bracelets, dozens of coins, a small Thor's hammer, and various cut objects. These kinds of silver artifacts were often used as a means of payment and a store of value... Around 320 of the objects were found within the original clay vessel, while the rest...

President Trump’s face is now on a new $1 coin being sold by the US Mint, and collectors will have to shell out more than a buck to get their hands on one. The Mint is selling the commemorative coins featuring the sitting president as part of its celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, according to its website. “These coins are also in circulation, so check your pocket change. Collect them today!” the Mint said on X. The Philadelphia-minted currency is available in 25-coin rolls and 100-coin bags, and priced between $61 and $154.50, the Mint said. One side features a...

A well-preserved Byzantine-era residential city in the western desert is one of two major archaeological finds announced by Egypt .. The recent discoveries at the Dakhla Oasis and at the Marina el-Alamein archaeological site, near Alexandria, are the latest findings which the Egyptian government hopes will boost the country’s vital tourism sector, partially driven by antiquities sightseeing. ... The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry said that the first discovery reveals details of daily life, urban development and economic activities in the Dakhla Oasis in the fourth century, when Egypt was part of the Byzantine empire. ... A basilica church dating back...

In 1995, remarkable contents of a 17th-century shipwreck began to be discovered by divers of the South West Maritime Archaeological Group off Salcombe Bay. The finds consist of over 400 gold coins of the Sa'dian Sharifs of Morocco in addition to ingots, jewellery as well as other items including Dutch pewter and pottery subsequently acquired by the British Museum. Although the ship has not survived, the divers discovered remnants of wood, rope and lead that were parts of its infrastructure. The finds from this shipwreck are significant for several reasons: the gold is clearly a bullion hoard and the number...

Bits of the history of Paris are emerging from the ground beneath Notre Dame cathedral, along with pieces of a medieval mystery. The project began when Notre Dame was struck by fire in 2019, and French media are calling it the “dig of the century.” “It’s a rare opportunity for us to work on something that’s tangibly going to make a difference to the history of Paris,” Lucie Altenburg, a conservator with the Paris archaeology unit, said, per the Associated Press. A 1,700-year-old Roman coin stamped with the face of Emperor Constantine has been found, as have fragments of medieval...

Live Science reports that a new study of Viking coins from the Damhus hoard, a cache of 226 pennies unearthed in Denmark near the site of the Viking town of Ribe in 2018, suggests that they contain silver recycled from Islamic coins. The 1,000-year-old coins, known as pennies, bear a face on one side thought to represent the Norse god Wodan or Odin, with a stag on the reverse. Thomas Birch of the National Museum of Denmark said that each coin would have been enough to buy ale, bread, or simple tools. Analysis of the coins also shows that when...

The Viking Herald reports that two rare English "Lamb of God" coins were recently unearthed in Jutland. During the eleventh century, English monarchs undertook various initiatives to try to ward off seemingly unending Viking attacks. Around 1009, King Æthelred the Unready even minted unusual coins in the hope of obtaining divine protection. The objects feature a lamb and a cross on one side -- a Christian motif alluding to Christ's sacrifice -- and a dove on the other, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Not only did these coins fail in their objective, they became somewhat coveted by Viking raiders,...

Robert Fooks swung a pickaxe into his kitchen floor to steal a few more inches of ceiling height. Instead, he cracked open a glazed pottery bowl that had been sitting in the earth beneath his 400-year-old Dorset cottage since the English Civil War. Inside sat roughly 1,000 gold and silver coins, untouched since someone buried them in the mid-1640s.The story surfaced after the coins sold at auction in 2024. The hoard lay hidden beneath the kitchen floor at South Poorton Farm until Robert and Betty Fooks decided to lower the ground level during a renovation...The couple bought the property in...

A remarkable archaeological discovery in eastern Norway has revealed the largest Viking Age coin hoard ever found in the country, offering new insights into trade, wealth, and political transformation during the late 10th and early 11th centuries.The hoard, uncovered in a field near Rena in Østerdalen, currently consists of 2,970 silver coins, with excavations still ongoing. Archaeologists believe the total may rise further as the site continues to be investigated under controlled conditions. The discovery is already being described as unprecedented in a Norwegian context.The coins originate from a wide geographical area, underscoring Norway's extensive international connections during the Viking...

Archaeologists in Chile have uncovered a 16th-century silver coin, confirming the location of one of South America's most infamous failed colonial settlements at the site of Rey Don Felipe – later known as Puerto del Hambre, or "Port Famine".Located on the north shore of the Strait of Magellan, Rey Don Felipe was founded in 1584 with around 300 Spanish settlers. According to historical accounts, the extreme conditions led to the settlers starving or freezing to death, and by the arrival of English navigator Thomas Cavendish in 1587, the settlement was mostly in ruins.The coin, valued at eight reals and bearing...

The Finance Ministry said Tuesday it will issue commemorative ¥1,000 [US$6.25] coins marking the 100th anniversary of the 1926 start of the Showa Era. The coins will be priced at ¥34,800 [US$218] apiece. The obverse design features a Shinkansen bullet train, Tokyo Tower and expressways in color, symbolizing postwar reconstruction and rapid economic growth. The reverse depicts Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms and doves. A total of 40,000 coins will be issued. Japan Mint will accept applications for about three weeks starting Aug. 20. This marks the first coin honoring a Japanese era since silver coins were issued in 2018 to...

A new Roman adventure begins! Join Miss Detectorist UK as coins fall from the earth along an ancient Roman road—now a quiet Wiltshire farm field. What starts as a routine dig turns into an extraordinary metal detecting day: a haul of 25 Roman coins and two incredible artefacts, including a beautiful bronze snake ring that hasn’t seen the light of day for nearly 2,000 years. Step into the past with Miss Detectorist and her detecting buddy as they trace the footsteps of Roman Britain, uncovering stories buried beneath the soil. From the first signal to the last astonishing find, this...

No matter how far liberals sink, we can always count on them to explore new depths of pettiness. For instance, leave it to liberals to grouse about a modest and historically appropriate change to a commemorative coin now in circulation. Then, leave it to those same liberals to blame President Donald Trump for the design when, in fact, the change occurred during the final months of former President Joe Biden's administration. […] … (L)iberals have speculated that the removal of the peace-signifying olive branch symbolizes Trump’s bellicosity. […] As usual, however, the liberals got it wrong. In fact, the Citizens...

James Edwards, chief cashier for Leeds Transport Company in the 1950s, put aside any fake or foreign coins he found when gathering fares from the city's bus and tram drivers, before passing them to his grandson Peter.Peter, now 77, kept the coins safe for more than 70 years and has now discovered one of the collection is so old that Jesus hadn't even been born when it was minted.He found that the small coin was made in the 1st Century BC by the Carthaginians, an ancient Mediterranean civilisation with Phoenician roots, in Cádiz, Spain.On one side it bears the face...

Eight emperors are shown on the coins. However, three of the coins featured an unexpected ruler -- Eugenius, who only ruled the Western Roman Empire from 392 to 394 CE. Eugenius came to power partially due to the support of a powerful general Arbogast. Arbogast was a Frank -- the Germanic-speaking peoples who invaded the Western Roman Empire during the Fifth Century.When Christianity was becoming increasingly dominant in the Roman Empire, Eugenius attempted to restore pagan practices and traditions. His brief reign was marked by conflict and political instability. Eugenius primary opponent -- Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I -- eventually...

In 2003, metal detectorist Brian Malin found the Chalgrove Hoard near Chalgrove, around 10 miles from Oxford. Inside a huge jar were nearly 5,000 late Roman coins, mostly copper-alloy radiates with that familiar "silvered" look that is really just debased coinage from the Crisis of the Third Century. After numismatists worked through the hoard coin by coin, one piece stood out. It looks ordinary, but the legend names an emperor who should not exist: Domitianus.The new Roman emperor discovered from a coin - Domitianus | 16:19TopRomanFacts | 37.2K subscribers | 25,111 views | January 9, 2026YouTube transcript reformatted at textformatter.ai...

Live Science reports that two 2,300-year-old gold coins have been recovered from the Bärenfels bog in northern Switzerland by a pair of volunteers working with the local archaeology department, Archaeology Baselland. These Celtic coins imitated Greek gold staters minted during the reign of Philip II of Macedon (reigned 360–336 B.C.), and feature an image of the Greek god Apollo on one side and a two-horse chariot on the other. The Celts added a triple spiral known as a triskele, or triskelion, beneath the horses on the smaller coin's reverse. These gold coins, and the 34 silver coins that had previously...

A jug holding a vast number of Roman coins was found during an excavation at a French village. (Image credit: © Simon Ritz, Inrap) Archaeologists in France have discovered three ancient storage jars brimming with tens of thousands of Roman coins. The vessels were buried in pits 1,700 years ago in the house floor of an ancient settlement, possibly as a type of safe or piggy bank. These three jugs, known as amphorae, were uncovered during excavations run by the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) in the village of Senon in northeastern France, and may contain a total...