In 2010, Dave Crisp, a hospital chef from the UK, made a remarkable discovery while using a metal detector in a field in southwest England. What began as a search for metal objects turned into the find of a lifetime when Crisp unearthed a pot containing 52,503 ancient Roman coins. Initially, he found just 21 coins, but as he dug further, he realized the enormity of his discovery and wisely decided to call in professionals. The UK’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, which encourages the public to report archaeological finds, facilitated the excavation by county archaeologists. They uncovered a massive 350-pound vase filled with coins dating from 253 to 305 CE, marking one of the most significant coin hoards ever found in Britain.
Among the coins were 766 bearing the image of Marcus Aurelius Carausius, the first Roman emperor to mint coins in Britain. The entire hoard was sent to the British Museum, where it took six weeks to clean, dry, and stabilize the coins, most of which were bronze with a few rare silver denarii issued by Carausius. The coins, now known as the Frome Hoard, were valued at $505,995 (£320,250) by the Treasure Valuation Committee in October 2010, a significant sum but lower than the initially estimated $1 million. Eventually, the Museum of Somerset acquired the hoard, where it remains on permanent display. Dave Crisp received a portion of the proceeds, sharing his reward with the farmer on whose land the treasure was found. This discovery not only brought Crisp unexpected fortune but also added a significant chapter to Britain’s rich archaeological history.
