Shropshire amateur detector discovers a significant hoard of Roman coins.
Last year, Shropshire Council's Museum Service was proud to announce that a local resident has uncovered a large amount of coins believed to be of Roman decent.
Following initial investigations, the hoard of at least 10,000 coins, is thought to be dated from the period 320 - 340 AD, the time of the reign of Constantine I. Amongst the coins, which weigh in excess of 70 pounds, are issues celebrating the anniversary of the founding of Rome and Constantinople. The coins were placed in a very large storage jar which had been buried in the ground around 1700 years ago. They had lain undisturbed since then waiting for someone to find them again. Staff at the British Museum have almost completed the painstaking work on cleaning each coin ready for identification. Once this has been done the hoard will be valued and work can start to raise the necessary funds to keep it in Shropshire on public display.
"This is a very exciting find and probably the largest coin hoard, at least in modern times, to be recovered from the County." Says Councillor Stephen Charmley, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Leisure. "It has also provided the museums with the opportunity to acquire these artefacts for future research and display. The Museum Service hopes to acquire the hoard with the intention to display it in the new Shrewsbury Museum planned for the Music Hall site in Shrewsbury. "
For more information on the Treasure Act and the work of the Portable Antiquities Scheme either visit the website via the links on this page, contact Peter Reavill on 01584 813641, or visit one of his regular finds days.