Amateur Treasure Hunter Unearths 52,000 Roman Coins Worth $1m

An amateur treasure hunter armed with a metal detector has found over 52,000 Roman coins worth $1 million buried in field, one of the largest ever such finds in the UK, said the British Museum. http://mocospacemoney.com

Dave Crisp, a hospital chef, came across the buried treasure while searching for "metal objects" in a field near Frome, Somerset in southwestern England.

Initially, Crisp found 21 coins, but when he unearthed the pot, he knew he needed archaeological help to excavate them.

The hoard contains 766 coins bearing an image of the Roman general Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from AD 286 to AD 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain.
Video: Treasure hunter digs up ancient find
RELATED TOPICS * The British Museum * Coin Collecting

Somerset County Council archaeologists excavated the pot -- a type of container normally used for storing food -- it weighed 160kg (350 pounds) and contained 52,500 coins.

The hoard was transferred to the British Museum in London where the coins were cleaned and recorded.

The coins date from AD 253 to 293 and most of them are made of debased silver or bronze.

Roger Bland, Head of Portable Antiquities and Treasure at the British Museum, told CNN: "Dave [Crisp] did the right thing, he didn't try to dig it all out. This is the largest ever find in a single pot and the second largest ever [in the UK].

"We think that whoever buried it didn't intend to come back to recover it. We can only guess why people buried treasure, some buried savings, others because they feared an invasion, perhaps this was an offering to the Gods."

Bland said the coins were probably worth about $1 million.

Dave Crisp, from Devizes in Wiltshire, told CNN: "At the time when I actually found the pot I didn't know what size it was but when the archaeologists came and started to uncover it, I was gobsmacked, I thought 'hell, this is massive.'"

Crisp, who describes himself as a "metal detectorist," unearthed the pot in April, although the discovery was officially announced on Thursday. Crisp told CNN he would have to split the value of the find with the farmer who owns the field in which he discovered the treasure.

Somerset Coroner Tony Williams is scheduled to hold an inquest on July 22 to formally determine whether the find is subject to the Treasure Act 1996. This would help towards determining a value of the hoard should any individual or organization want to buy it.

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• TREASURE hunter
• unearths
• roman coins
• worth
• $1m
• dave crisp
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• british museum
• burien in field
• hospital chep
• metal objects
• archaeology
• roman general
• marcus aurelius carausius
• coin collecting
• 52000
• roman
• coins

[hanghoodiescum]

all i ever fuckin find is bottle tops lol

[JxT1957]

actually those coins are mine. i was serving with the 10th roman legion at the time. i got drunk on wine one night and lost them in that exact spot. please return them to me. Thank you, Senatus Populus Que Romanus. oh yeah i almost forgot, Titus Pullo for ruler in 2012!

[YankeeGoldProspect]

No doubt this money was confiscated by the government & given to the Rothschild imperial family?

[ERock73]

@christopherc125 52,500 coins actually...

[littledooo]

i live in and grew up in the town this was found in!!! frome somerset... the asshole who found them was from devizes in wiltshire!! somebody from frome deserved this find!!!! not him

[krounos1]

why are they in an egg

[shartne]

I would have kept them.

[caessarion]

thats a weird pot?

[datzfast]

its obvious, the tax collector burried the loot insted of turning it in. i mean really , its plain as day. its why it is in such low demonination.

[christopherc125]

766 coins

[marcusdelcactus]

that's one lucky day in a life.

[uneedamuracle]

@hanghoodiescum Garrett Ace 250 seems to be a serious weapon if you ask me... Look up "crack badger metal detecting" on youtube. He uses one often and has a video on why.