2016-01-30 Sat

It was like Santa checked-in way too early, when Mark Copsey, 44 unearthed a hoard of 3,340 ancient and rare Roman coins accidently at a building site in Yeovil on March 20 2013. Sources claim that the coins could be worth as much as $251,000.

An examination revealed that these coins were 3 centuries old, a period when the Romans marched regularly through the then-village, on the Fosse Way (the main road between Exeter and Lincoln), around 270CE.

The coins have beautiful depictions of various empresses and emperors including Philip I, born in Syria of a Syrian father, around 204CE. Other coins had depictions of an elephant and even a hippopotamus.

The hoard includes 164 silver denarii coins which come from the reigns of Antoninus Pius (CE 138-61), Septimius Severus (CE 193-211), Caracalla (CE 198-217), Macrinus (CE 217-8), Elagabalus (CE 218-222), Severus Alexander (CE 222-35), Maximinus I (CE 235-8) and Gordian III (CE 238-44)

Apart from that, there were four brass sestertii (four of which were worth one denarii) which were minted under Roman Empress Faustina II (130-175CE), Lucilla (the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius) and Commodus, Roman Emperor from 180 to 192 CE with Marcus Aurelius.

The coin with the elephant bears the bust of Philip I 'the Arab' on its reverse, who was the Roman Emperor between 244 and 249 CE.

The coin with a hippopotamus also shows Otacilia Severa, who was a Roman Empress and wide of Philip I, between 244 and 249 CE

The rest are radiates, which were much like modern pennies and had a small value.