London, England (CNN) -- An amateur treasure hunter armed with a metal detector has found over 52,000 Roman coins worth $1 million buried in field, one of the largest ever such finds in the UK, said the British Museum. Dave Crisp, a hospital chef, came across the buried treasure while searching for "metal objects" in a field near Frome, Somerset in southwestern England. Initially, Crisp found 21 coins, but when he unearthed the pot, he knew he needed archaeological help to excavate them. The hoard contains 766 coins bearing an image of the Roman general Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who ruled Britain independently from AD 286 to AD 293 and was the first Roman emperor to strike coins in Britain. http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/07/09/uk.roman.coin.treasure/index.html?hpt=C2
Too bad that he won't get to keep any of them. He could get a reward though. That is a really cool find.
Nope, he should get to keep (or sell) most of the hoard, after its studied. Expect these on the market in three or four years.
It would have been better if the find was just a handful. That way all of the publicity would not have been generated. Then he just could have them. How cool though to stumble on coins that old and for free. Wonder what the story is about all of them being at that one spot.
More than 10 coins of base metal, over 300 years old, in Britain. It falls under the Treasure Act of 1996. It will be property of the Crown, sent to the British Museum, valued and he will be given a finder's reward accordingly. Act is here: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1996/ukpga_19960024_en_1
Yeah, from the pictures I've seen, while there's a decent amount of good stuff there (the Carausius denarii are amazing), the majority of it appears to be reasonably common coins in iffy condition. I doubt many museums would want those, as they really don't work for display, and most museums already probably have decent enough examples of them.
An interesting find indeed. But do we really have to have five different topics about this? Here are the other four; maybe there's even more ... http://www.cointalk.com/t117886/ http://www.cointalk.com/t118064/ http://www.cointalk.com/t117834/ http://www.cointalk.com/t117843/ Christian
Don't worry about the coins' safety now. They will be carelessly hidden in some museum closet, soon to be forgotten and never to see the light of day (or be seen by humans) again. I like this video on the find: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/7879099/Roman-coin-hoard-found-the-weight-of-two-men.html g.
Actually the brittish gov't has the best policy for this kind of thing. Yes, the museums get the first dibs IF they are willing to pay market value for them. Any that the museums do not want are returned to the person that found them and the property owner to split up and do with them as they wish. Most museums don't have the ready cash to buy thousands of the same type coin. and wouldn't want to even if they did. These will see the open market eventually, at least most of them will, prpbably with a certificate linking them to the "largest find". Richard
I'm sure the publication of the hoard will include a complete photo-catalog, given the ease of modern technology. I for one look forward to reading the report.
I'm with Ziggy. You can bet your bottom dollar some marketing agency is already planning to acquire those that the British Museum does not want, then sell them at a hefty premium, along with a "certificate of authenticity" much like the overpriced USS Central Amercia "shipwreck" hoard coins we see for sale. The treasure hunter and property owner will make out OK. Someone will pay the premium for these coins. I personally think the find is really cool, this is what every metal detector hobbyist out there dreams about. Kudos to the guy for notifying the authorities, rather than dig them up and try to sell it himself. In so doing, he has preserved history for future generations.
Isn't this the 2nd or 3rd large find in the last year or so? It seems that this isn't that rare of an event.
