Posted on 11/19/2015 11:59:36 PM PST by SunkenCiv
A trove of more than 4,000 bronze and silver coins dating back to ancient Rome, uncovered this summer in the orchard of a fruit and vegetable farmer, has been described as one of the biggest treasures of this kind found in Switzerland.
The huge hoard of coins, buried about 1,700 years ago and weighing 15kg (33lb), was discovered in Ueken, in Switzerland’s northern canton of Aargau, after the farmer spotted some shimmering green coins on a molehill in his cherry orchard...
On Thursday the archaeological service announced that after months of digs, 4,166 coins had been found at the site, most in excellent condition.
The coins’ imprints remained legible, and an expert dated the money to the period stretching from the reign of Emperor Aurelian (270-275) to the rule of Maximian (286-305), the most recent coins made in 294...
The coins’ excellent condition indicated that the owner systematically stashed them away shortly after they were made, the archaeologists said. For some reason that person had buried them shortly after 294 and never retrieved them. Some of the coins, made mainly of bronze but with a 5% silver content (an unusually high amount), were buried in small leather pouches.
The archaeologists said it was impossible to determine the original value of the money due to rampant inflation at the time, but said they would have been worth at least a year or two of wages... Matter said... the farmer would be likely to get a finder’s fee “but the objects found belong to the public, in accordance with Swiss lawâ€.
The Ueken treasure will go on display at the Vindonissa Museum, in Brugg, Aargau.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Nice photos at both sources, but can't use 'em here.
Treasure Trove of 4,166 Roman Coins Found in Swiss Molehill Time mag
Interesting article.
Somewhat surprised that he wasn’t permitted to keep them.
Especially since Switzerland had been previously noted for their respect of individual freedom and financial privacy.
“Matter said... the farmer would be likely to get a finders fee but the objects found belong to the public, in accordance with Swiss law.”
Ping for later. I finally got a metal detector and have been dreaming of treasures. 69 coins and assorted fun junk so far, but still lots of ground to cover in hopes of ancient relics and gold and silver Japanese and Chinese coins.
I haven't searched for a detector in over a year
Which one did you get and is it what you wanted / expected ... ?
Shoot shovel and shut up
When redeeming, one at a time, say it was found near a construction site in the city near city hall.
Wish they were in my back yard... ;o]
Swiss numismatist Hugo Doppler has identified a number of emperors stamped onto the coins: Aurelian (270-275), Tacitus (275-276), Probus (276-282), Carus (283-285), Diocletian (284-305) and Maximian (286-305). The newest coins are from the year 294.
FWIW, the local area has a lot of water, I note that you are on an island so I hope this is of some value.
The other day I was speaking to a person who is an expert on such things. He told me that he wished he knew when he started detecting that all of his best finds would be in the water. No, he wasn't scuba diving, he was just walking along the shores, on the beaches, and in the surf. In the last couple of years he had found enough to trade in to buy a new car for cash and a number of other things.
From the perspective of a history that creates lost metal items, this area is quite young. Imagine what might be waiting in the surf of a nation as old as Japan.
So anyway, the point was, that while it seems obvious that beaches are a good place to search, it was actually out in the water where the most was found. Seems that in the last 150 years or so a lot of people have jumped in to the cold lakes for a swim and wound up losing their rings and a bunch of other things. At least according to him, aquatic detection was the best return for his time.
With the history of past trade and present recreation on those canals, Id bet there are some real interesting things back that way too.
Aurelian is one of my favorite emperors, he was one of the never-say-die / get-er-done leaders, and precursor to the reunification under Diocletian. Naturally, he was assassinated by some corrupt dunghole.
/8^)
He did manage to mint oodles of coins during his five year reign. A wide variety of types available to the collector.
There is a great website that features jewelry made with ancient coins some from ancient Greek., Roman, Middle Ages, Spanish Galleons. If you are looking for a special and unique gift this is it.
www.lostgalleon.com
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