Roman gold coins found in Kalkriese

Achrhaeologists discovered 8 Roman gold coins from the time of Caesar Augustus, during excavations in Kalkriese. Experts see this as evidence that Kalkriese could be the site of the legendary battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

The discovered Roman gold coins on show at the Kalkriese museum park in Bramsche-Kalkriese, Germany.

The scientific director of the excavations, Salvatore Ortisi of the University of Osnabrück, said on Monday that extraordinary Fund confirm that the explored at Kalkriese battlefield from the time of Emperor Augustus (63 BC to 14 ad). In the historic battle of the Germans against the Romans, the troops of the Roman general Varus suffered a bloody defeat.

The coins were minted around the time of Christ's birth in Lyon and presented at that time the equivalent of the annual income of an ordinary soldier is. Probably the gold coins stuck together in a purse that someone wanted to hide in greatest need.

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Augustus gold coin found by Hiker

A Hiker has found a Roman coin that is almost 2,000 years old and only the second of its kind found in the world, the only other example of such a coin is held in the British Museum.

The coin, from 107 AD, bears the image of Emperor Augustus but was minted by Emperor Trajan.

According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Roman coin found in the eastern Galilee region.

The hiker, Laurie Rimon, will be awarded a certificate of appreciation for good citizenship, Israel's antiquities authority says.

Ms Rimon, a member of the Kefar Blum kibbutz, was hiking with friends in the eastern Galilee when she discovered a shiny object in the grass.

The group's guide then contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who arrived within two hours.

Ms Rimon then handed over the find, but said "it was not easy parting with the coin".

"After all, it is not every day one discovers such an amazing object, but I hope I will see it displayed in a museum in the near future," she said.

Danny Syon, a senior coin expert at the IAA, said the relic was "rare on a global level".

It was, he said, "part of a series of nostalgic coins that Emperor Trajan minted and dedicated to the Roman emperors that ruled before him".

The IAA said the recently unearthed coin was "the identical twin brother" to the one kept at the British Museum in London.

The authority said members of the public would be able to enjoy the rare find "soon".

Sorce: BBC News

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Swiss farmer found more than 4,100 Roman coins

A Swiss farmer has discovered more than 4,100 Roman coins from the third century in his cherry orchard. The farmer stumbled upon the stash of the bronze and silver coins in July in Ueken, Northern Switzerland.

The regional archaeological service said the coin trove was one of the biggest such finds in Swiss history.

The farmer contacted Aargau’s archaeological department, which sent out staff to look at the “exceptionally well preserved” coins.

Over three days in September volunteer researchers found more coins under a search directed by cantonal archaeologist Georg Matter, the canton said in a news release.

A total of 4,166 coins made of bronze and silver were collected in a find that “exceeds all expectations by far — something you experience as an archaeologist rarely more than once in a career,” Matter said in a statement.

It is one of the largest discoveries of ancient coins made in Switzerland — all found within an area of a few square metres.

Archaeologists have already started to examine the coins that date from between 270 and 294 AD.

Coin expert Hugo Doppler has examined 200 of the coins, examples of the so-called Antoniniani used during the third century of the Roman Empire, the canton said.

They bear the images of different emperors, including Aurelian (dating from 270-275), Tacitus (275-276), Probus (276-282), Carinus (283-285), Diocletian (284-305) and Maximianus (286-305).

The coins have a silver content of five percent and are well preserved because they were immediately withdrawn from circulation, Doppler said in a statement.

“The owner must have deliberately chosen to hoard these coins for the silver in them guaranteed a certain value in a time of economic uncertainty.”

Researchers believe the treasure was accumulated over several years and buried in the ground.

While the original value of the coins is difficult to estimate, the experts believe they represented a considerable fortune at the time, “in the order of average earnings for one to two years”.

Research is continuing on the find, made south of the municipality of Frick where a few months earlier parts of a Roman settlement were excavated.

Other Roman remains have been found in the area, also known for its dinosaur discoveries, where the Romans had an iron ore mine.

From the first century BC until 401AD the area covered by present-day Switzerland was part of the Roman empire and vestiges of Roman structures can be found across the country.

Source: The Local

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10 ton Han Dynasty coins found in China

Chinese archeologists announced Wednesday the discovery of the most complete Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 25 A.D.) cemetery. More than 10 tonnes of Wuzhu bronze coins together with more than 10,000 other gold, bronze and iron items, unearthed along with jade articles, wood tablets and bamboo slips, said Xin Lixiang of the China National Museum, who heads the team at the site.

The Haihunhou cemetery is located a kilometer from the nearest village in Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province. It covers some 40,000 square meters with eight tombs and a chariot burial site with walls that stretch for almost 900 meters.

Archeologists suspect that the main tomb is that of Liu He, grandson of Emperor Wu, the greatest ruler of Han Dynasty, one of the most prosperous periods in China's history. Liu was given the title "Haihunhou" (Marquis of Haihun) after he was deposed as emperor after only 27 days, dethroned by the royal clan because of his lack of talent and morals. Haihun is the ancient name of a very small kingdom in the north of Jiangxi.

Xu Changqing, director of Jiangxi provincial cultural relics research institute, said on Wednesday that the cemetery is the most complete and best preserved Han Dynasty tomb cluster ever discovered. Archeologists can clearly see the foundations of the tombs thought to be of Haihunhou and his wife, as well as affiliated memorial temples. There are roads and drainage systems in the cemetery.

The Wuzhu bronze coins were unearthed in the most complete Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- 25 A.D.) cemetery ever discovered in China.

The bronze coins together with more than 10,000 other gold, bronze and iron items, have been unearthed along with jade articles, wood tablets and bamboo slips.

The work of Li and his colleagues in counting, clearing and photographing the coin has led to the first clear understanding of the Han Dynasty monetary system.

The coins were arranged in group of 1,000, with each set strung on a cord.

Before the finding, historical documents had suggested that a string of 1,000 coins was a monetary unit, which was thought to have originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). This is the first hard archeological evidence of the monetary unit, and has pushed the date back 600 years.

Xin Lixiang said that according to documents, 10 such strings of bronze coins could be exchanged for 250 grams (or one "Jin" in Chinese) of gold. Ten "Jin" of gold was usually the total property of a middle-class family at that time.

Li and his colleagues have found six complete strings of bronze coins at the dig.

"The coins are strung on hemp ropes. Although the ropes had weathered, we were able to identify the strings," said Li.

He said to prevent the piles of coins from collapsing, they had to work on the hanging board. The coins came from the reigns of three emperors including the Emperor Wu, considered the greatest ruler of Han Dynasty, and Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan in the Western Han Dynasty.

Each round coin has a square hole in the center and is carved with the characters of Wuzhu in seal style font. Wuzhu (five grains) refers to the weight of the coin.

Xin, who has studied some 4,000 Han Dynasty tombs, said the amount buried indicated the importance of the occupant of the tomb. The focus of the next stage of the archeological work will be to look for items locked in the coffin of the central mausoleum.

"There may be a royal seal and jade clothes that will suggest the status and identity of the tomb's occupant," he said.

Li Xiaojie, vice minister of culture and director of the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, has ordered that work of the cemetery should be aimed at applying for UNESCO's world heritage listing.

Jiangxi's cultural department use high-tech sampling and recording to document information and data. Several labs and research teams have been set up to work separately on archaeobotany, zooarchaeology as well as studies on textiles, metals and historical records.

Source: news.xinhuanet.com

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Roman Coins Discovered at The Ridgeway Primary School

A hoard of Roman coins has been found buried in the grounds of The Ridgeway Primary School, a primary school in Reading. A pottery vessel containing up to 300 coins was discovered during an archaeological exploration of the site before School's redevelopment works.

The coins have been sent to a specialist to be cleaned, conserved and to ascertain their precise number, date and denomination. It is thought that the pot of coins was buried by a Roman citizen or farmer for safe keeping, possibly during a time of crisis or threat.

Investigations so far have also shown that there was probably a small Roman farm or hamlet on the site of the school and this was preceded by Late Bronze Age activity around 1,000 to 800 BC.

The pot, coins and any other artefacts found during the archaeological dig at the school belong to the landowner, Reading Borough Council, and fall under the requirements of the Treasure Act 1996. It is hoped that they will join the collection at Reading Museum and enhance our understanding of what life was like in the Borough during Roman times.

Lead Councillor for Culture, Sport and Consumer Services, Paul Gittings said:

“This is such an exciting find, especially as this ‘buried treasure’ was found in the grounds of a Reading primary school. What a wonderful way to bring history to life for The Ridgeway’s pupils. I am sure that they are as keen as I am to find out more about the coins once they have been assessed by experts.

“Subject to the outcome of the Treasure Act process, the Council hopes to exhibit the coins at Reading Museum so that they can be enjoyed by residents and visitors to the Borough.”

The Ridgeway Primary School’s Headteacher, Madeleine Cosgrove said:

“Both pupils and staff are very excited about this discovery and look forward to the story unfolding so that it can be preserved as part of the heritage of The Ridgeway School.”

Source: Reading Borough Council

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Roman gold coins rediscovered in University Library

Philip Kiernan, University at Buffalo faculty member rediscovered 40 silver Greek coins, three gold Greek coins and a dozen gold Roman coins — one from each era of the first 12 Roman emperors, from Julius Caesar to Domitian in University at Buffalo Library.

He heard a rumor from a UB alumnus in 2010 that the UB Libraries housed the rare coins and he went looking for them.

“I saw these trays and thought, oh this is some kind of reproductive set from the early 20th century, some kind of copies,” Kiernan said on Wednesday, displaying the find for reporters. “However, when we opened up the trays and pulled out the coins – nope, they’re perfectly good ancient coins.”

There were three wood-framed glass trays, one holding the 12 gold Roman coins and the other two holding 40 silver Greek coins. A small leather pouch contained an additional three gold Greek coins. The newest of the lot is from the first century AD.

“I must have been the first person to touch them in almost 40 years,” says Kiernan, who brought in two experts to verify the coins’ authenticity last semester and is now developing a graduate course to examine the items’ history.

“Libraries are becoming museums,” says Michael Basinski, curator of the UB Libraries Special Collections. “Everything is going digital, but we remain tied to the physical objects.”

The coins were donated in 1935 to the UB Libraries Special Collections from Buffalo lawyer Thomas B. Lockwood as part of a larger collection of rare books. Lockwood had also funded construction of UB’s Lockwood Memorial Library. Lockwood, described by Basinski as “a gentleman’s collector”, had bought the coins at an auction of a Danish collector’s estate in 1925. It’s unknown how much he paid.

One of the coins, from the era of the Roman emperor Otho, contains an apparent mistake in the engraving. On its reverse side, the Roman goddess of security, Securitas, holds a wreath and cornucopia, instead of her usual wreath and scepter. It’s one of countless tidbits to be explored.

Source: University at Buffalo

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