2016-02-16 Tue

Cherry trees don’t just bear the world’s most loved fruits, but also are lucky it seems. A Swiss fruit-and-vegetable farmer discovered a hoard of more than 4,000 bronze and silver coins collectively weighing 15 kg, dating back to Ancient Rome, buried some 1,700 years ago.

A farmer made the spectacular discovery back in July, when he spotted a molehill with some shimmering green coins on his land in Ueken. He contacted the regional archaeological service who after months of discrete excavations, announced a total of 4,166 coins had been found in excellent condition.

The imprints on the coins remain legible, which has allowed experts to confirm they date back to the reign of Emperor Aurelian who was in power from 170 to 275AD and Emperor Maximillian, from 286 to 305AD.

The most recent coins were found to date to the year 294. Archaeologist Georg Matter has revealed that the orchard where the coins were found was and agricultural area. The coins' excellent condition indicates that their owner systematically hid them away shortly after they were made.

Some of the coins, which are made mainly of bronze but with an unusually high silver content of five per cent, were buried in small leather pouches. Experts believe that the money clearly must have been worth at least a year or two of wages. Authorities did not want to reveal the real worth of these coins today.

The farmer will not be allowed to keep the treasure which will instead go on display at the Vindonissa de Brugg Museum in Aargau, as per the Swiss law. He is likely to get a finder’s fee though.