Saturday, July 10, 2010

Amazing what those metal-detectors find sometimes

They may look stupid (or crazy), wandering beaches and fields with what looks like a land-mine detector [and they're descended from them] in their hand, waving it over the ground -- but hobbyist treasure hunters occasionally actually find buried treasure. It's a bonus when it has historical significance.

Chef discovers largest ever hoard of Roman coins in a field

What amazes me is that these people will do this for years, finding loose change, bottle caps, and scrap metal, always dreaming they'll find something like this. And very rarely, they do.

The coins span 40 years from AD253 to AD293 and the great majority are 'radiates' made from debased silver or bronze.

The hoard was the equivalent of four years of pay for a Roman legionary - and could now fetch at least £250,000. Weighing 350lb, the coins may have been buried as an offering for a good harvest or favourable weather.



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