2017-10-04 Wed

A 35-year-old metal detectorist named Mike Smale found a large hoard of 600 silver Roman denarii, dating back nearly 2,000 years, on a farmer’s field in Dorset County, England. The hoard has an estimated value of £200,000.

Mike was participating in an annual detectorist’s event in Bridport with other members of the Southern Detectorists Club when he discovered these coins. After finding a few coins, he called officials to carry out further excavations as per the Law. Experts believe that these denarii were originally stored in a pot and buried. A farmer probably ploughed in the area to break the ceramic container and spread the coins all over.

The coins were issued around 32 BCE by Roman general and politician Mark Antony and feature a specific type of Roman ship. At that time, Mark Antony was associated with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra during a civil war against the forces of Octavian, the nephew of Julius Caesar.

Graeco-Roman deities are featured on some coins and a few of them came from 1st century CE. The latter depicted early Roman emperors like Marcus Salvius Otho, who reigned for three months in 69 CE, a year which is popularly known as “Year of the Four Emperors”. The condition is very good, and considering its rarity, each coin has an estimated value of £900.

The coins will be handed over to the local coroner to find out if it can be called a treasure under the Treasure Act. If yes, then they should be given to museums for sale. Profits will be shared between Mr. Smale and the owner of the land where the coins were found. If no, then Mr. Smale has the right to do anything with them. Smale has said that he would share the profit with almost 300 fellow hobbyists, including members of the Southern Detectorists Club who attended the Bridport event.