Amazing coin discoveries

In June 2013 a British man made one of the most spectacular discoveries of the century. After buying a metal detector as a hobby, he used it in woods near St. Albans, Hertfordshire. His initial finds were just a spoon and a halfpenny, however, soon after, he discovered the first gold coin. As the metal detector continued to beep he discovered to dig the ground and so discovered 55 more gold Roman coins dating back 1,600 years. The took the coins to a local museum who inspected the coins and decided to launch a further digs finding a further 104 coins. The coins – minted in Italy as well as in other parts of Europe – were in use during the Empire of six Roman Emperors from Honorius to Gratian.

The strange find of 4 copper coins from the ruins of Katsuren Castle in Okinawa Island, Japan, left experts speechless. It is not clear on how the coins ended up in Japan. The coins are believed to be Roman coins, although corroded they show relics with the image of Emperor Constantine I. The Castle is historically known for having commercial relationship with China and other Asian countries, but links with Europe remain unclear to archaeologists.

A collection of 22,000 Roman coins that date back to 4th century  were discovered by Laurence Egerton, in East Devon. The coins contain the representation of Emperor Constantine, the members of his family, his predecessors and successors. The discovery was the third largest collection of coins found in Britain.  52,503 Roman coins were found near Frome in Somerset, in 2010, and 22,703 coins were found in Dorset, in 1989. The find in East Devon has been acknowledged as treasure by the  he Devon Coroner’s Inquest, and as soon as the Secretary of State, value the 22,000 coins, these can be sold to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. The Museum plan to display the collection for first time in 1,500 years.

A collection of 4,000 Roman coins were found in an individual’s orchard after something shiny caught his attention. The collection dates back to the Empire of Aurelian in 274 AD and the Empire of Maximian in 294 AD. It is thought that the collection was property of a man living in the area, and that it was hidden by being buried. It is argued that the same man might not have found the treasure he buried, or that he died before being able to excavate the area to dig out the coins.

A student in Scotland found a rare £5 note, worth £50,000 in a Christmas card donated by a relative, unaware of the value of the banknote. The banknote bears the printed image of Jane Austen, and a quote from one of her novels. It is one of the four banknotes with the image of Jane Austen that have been put in circulation as part of an art project of Graham Short, who spent the 4 banknotes whilst travelling different locations in the UK. Two of these still have to be discovered and are still in circulation in the UK.

A 10 shillings banknote worth AUS $1M was found in 1999 among the properties of Ms Denman. The banknote with serial number 000001, was donated to Ms Denman when she was 5 years old in 1913, during a Melbourne celebration. The family of Ms Denman soon moved to England and the banknote travelled with them. There was a strong interest to keep the banknote in Australia, and auctioneers sold it for AUS $1M to a family in Melbourne.

A woman, named Laurie Rimon, saw something shiny while hiking in Israel with friends. It was a 2000 years old coin, bearing the image of Emperor Augustus. The coin dates back to 107 AD, and was minted by Emperor Trajan in honor of his predecessor.

Steven Ingram, recently found a treasure of 1,000 silver coins, buried during the English Civil War on farmland in Lincolnshire, UK. The coins minted during the reigns of Edward VI, Elisabeth, Mary, James I and Charles I. The farm, where the coins were found, was close to battlefields used during the English Civil War, between the Royalists and Parliamentarists. It is thought that one of the soldiers buried the coins before battle and was never able to dig them out.

Brian Morton, after years and years of using his metal detector was thrilled to have made the discovery of two Viking coins in Belfast. The coins are silver coins and were probably method of payment during the 11th century. It is thought that the coins might have been left during one of the Viking invasion of monasteries. Vikings often targetted monasteries and churches to steal property belonging to the priests. The coins have been given to the British Museum for a valuation.