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Ancient find in Spain

Just read this on the news today, 19 Amphora full of 3rd and 4th C. Romans.



Seville (Spain) (AFP) - Construction workers have found 600 kilos (1,300 pounds) of ancient Roman coins while carrying out routine work on water pipes in southern Spain, local officials said Thursday.



"It is a unique collection and there are very few similar cases," Ana Navarro, head of Seville's Archeology Museum which is looking after the find, told a news conference.



Dating back to the late third and early fourth centuries, the bronze coins were found Wednesday inside 19 Roman amphoras, a type of jar, in the town of Tomares near Seville.



Navarro declined to give a precise estimate for the value of the haul, saying only that the coins were worth "certainly several million euros".



The coins are stamped with the inscriptions of emperors Maximian and Constantine, and they appeared not to have been in circulation as they show little evidence of wear and tear.



It is thought they were intended pay the army or civil servants.



"The majority were newly minted and some of them probably were bathed in silver, not just bronze," said Navarro.



"I could not give you an economic value, because the value they really have is historical and you can't calculate that."



Local officials have suspended the work on the water pipes and plan to carry out an archaeological excavation on the site.



The Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC, ruling until the early 5th century when they were ousted by the Visigoths.

Comments

  • hchcoinhchcoin Posts: 4,825 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I love stories like this.
  • AndresAndres Posts: 977 ✭✭✭
    Estimate 200.000 coins, cleaning determine type / mint , would be a nice job for forummer STLNATS image
    image
    collector of Greek banknotes - most beautifull world banknotes - Greek & Roman ancient coins.
  • SaorAlbaSaorAlba Posts: 7,466 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sure would love to be able to catalog all those coins - imagine the varieties etc.
    In memory of my kitty Seryozha 14.2.1996 ~ 13.9.2016 and Shadow 3.4.2015 - 16.4.21
  • DNADaveDNADave Posts: 7,239 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Should these be made available for purchase? or all tucked away in a drawer in a museum?

    I haven't decided for myself yet.
  • SapyxSapyx Posts: 1,976 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It does not matter what "should" happen. This is Spain, so what will happen is that they'll all go into a museum. In Spain, that's what happens to all ancient coins found by archaeologists. Which is, of course, why they're being coy about their market value.



    And they won't be "in a drawer". There's more than half a tonne of them. Some poor museum in Spain is probably going to have to build a room to house them.
    Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
    Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"

    Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD. B)
  • TwoKopeikiTwoKopeiki Posts: 9,528 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Pretty cool find. Based on Sapyx's comment, I guess this find has no impact on the coin market?
  • SapyxSapyx Posts: 1,976 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not in terms of directly affecting supply, no. There might be a long-term indirect effect as new information on varieties etc might come to light from studying a large hoard like this, which then gets written into the catalogues.
    Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
    Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"

    Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD. B)
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