Hoard of Roman Gold Coins Discovered in Luxembourg

News January 13, 2025

Roman gold solidi
© C. Nosbusch/Luxembourg National Institute for Archaeological Research
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HOLZTHUM, LUXEMBOURG—Live Science reports that archaeologists excavating the site of a small Roman fort in northern Luxembourg uncovered a 1,700-year-old hoard of 141 gold coins, or solidi. Minted between A.D. 364 and 408, the coins feature portraits of eight Roman emperors. Three of the coins show Eugenius, who was appointed by a military officer after the mysterious death of Valentinian II and reigned in the Western Roman Empire for two years, until his death at the Battle of Frigidus in A.D. 394. “It will still take some time to process the excavation and finds, but it will undoubtedly increase our knowledge and understanding of the last century of the Roman Empire in the West,” concluded Eric Thill, Luxembourg’s Culture Minister. To read about a hoard of later gold coins that was uncovered in Israel, go to "Artifact: Byzantine Solidus Coins."

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