I always thought those old Roman coins were pretty common until I found one in a field near York

I was helping with a surface survey last spring, walking a grid in a plowed field, and I spotted what looked like a rusty washer. It turned out to be a silver denarius from the reign of Emperor Hadrian, which my supervisor said was in really good shape for being in the ground for nearly 1,900 years. Has anyone else had a find that totally changed how you see a common artifact type?

3 comments

3 Comments

rubyw702mo ago

Honestly that's a cool find but it makes me laugh when people call Roman coins common. Sure, tons were made, but finding a silver one in a field is still a big deal. Most of the "common" ones you see are the really worn bronze coins that turn up everywhere. A good silver denarius like that is a proper treasure, not just a casual find. It totally makes sense it changed your view.

oliver24222d ago

Oh man, this is so true! I remember back when I found my first Roman bronze coin in a field near my house. It was completely worn down, barely any detail left, just a green blob. I was so excited at first, but then I looked up what it was worth and it was basically nothing. That kind of deflated me for a while. But then my buddy found a silver denarius a few months later and it totally changed my outlook. He let me hold it and you could see the emperor's face clear as day, felt solid and heavy. It really drives home the point that not all finds are equal, and that silver one is a once in a lifetime thing for most of us.

nancy_owens2mo ago

Exactly, and doesn't that show how the word "common" can be misleading? It lumps together a worn bronze coin you can buy for a few dollars with a solid silver piece that was real money back then. Finding that silver in the dirt connects you directly to a Roman soldier or trader, not just the empire itself. That's a huge difference in feeling, and it's why one find can make you see the whole hobby in a new light.