Roman Coins Discovered in Northwestern Spain

News January 10, 2022

(Alfonso Fanjul Peraza)
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Spain Roman Coins
(Alfonso Fanjul Peraza)

ASTURIAS, SPAIN—CNN reports that a badger is thought to be responsible for the discovery of a cache of Roman coins in northwestern Spain’s La Cuesta Cave. When heavy snowfall hit the region last year, the badger or another animal may have been searching for food or digging a den when it encountered the cache and brought about 90 of the 209 coins to the surface. They were spotted by a local man, Roberto García, who alerted archaeologist Alfonso Fanjul Peraza. The coins, dated to the third through fifth centuries A.D., were minted in Constantinople and Thessaloniki. “We think it’s a reflection of the social and political instability which came along with the fall of Rome and the arrival of groups of barbarians to northern Spain,” Fanjul said. He plans to return to the cave for additional investigations. To read about analysis of silver used to mint Roman coins, go to “Spain’s Silver Boom.”

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