An amateur treasure hunter has stumbled across the largest hoard of gold coins ever found in the United Kingdom.
The stash included 52,000 Roman coins valued at more than $5 million.
The coins were buried in a large jar about a foot underground. The coin-filled jar weighed about 350 pounds.
Treasure hunter Dave Crisp said he started digging after hearing a funny signal from his metal detector.
stash included 52,000 Roman coins valued at more than $5 million.
“I put my hand in, pulled out a bit of clay and there was a little radial, a little bronze Roman coin very, very small, about the size of my fingernail,” Crisp said.
Historians say the coins date back to the 3rd century.
Hundreds of the coins had an image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, a Roman naval officer who seized power in Britain and northern France, but was later assassinated.
“The late 3rd century A.D. was a time when Britain suffered barbarian invasions, economic crises, and civil wars,” Roger Bland, with the British Museum, said.
