Roman Coin Hoard Unearthed in Cornwall

CORNWALL, ENGLAND—Cornwall Live reports that metal detecting enthusiasts discovered nearly 2,000 Roman coins in a freshly plowed field near the southwestern tip of England. The coins, which date to between A.D. 253 and 274, are thought to have been placed in a tin container with a handle and lead stopper, and buried in a stone-lined pit. Known as radiates, the coins were cast from bronze that included one percent silver. The two men who discovered the coins, Kyle Neil and Darren Troon, marked the area where they found the first few coins, and then alerted an archaeologist when they found a bunch of coins together in another area. They stayed to help with the excavation. “It was a day I don’t think we’ll ever forget,” Troon said. The coins are currently being studied at the Royal Cornwall Museum and the British Museum. To read about the discovery of thousands of Roman coins in England, go to “Seaton Down Hoard.”