SHROPSHIRE HOARD DECLARED TREASURE

 

What have the Romans ever done for us? In the case of one detectorist from North Wales, they have got him on the property ladder.

Darren Booth's discovery of 377 denarii coins in a Shropshire field has landed him a payday, the haul — apparently a soldier's savings — enabling him to obtain a mortgage.

We can't discuss values but I think we are talking low double-figure thousands, Booth, 40, said. It is the historical worth that has given him the greater thrill. It is remarkable to think that I was the first person to touch these coins in 2,000 years. You don't get that kind of feeling with any other hobby, he said.

The discovery has been declared as treasure and the coins are being bought by the British Museum and Shropshire Museums.

The coins include a rare example stamped with the visage of the Emperor Vespasian, only the second of its kind to be discovered in the UK.

The British Museum has the other but, luckily for me, my coin is in much better condition, Booth said.

He will split the proceeds with the landowner of the field, near Gobowen in the Shropshire Marches, where the coins were found.

Initially Booth found one piece, the first Roman coin he had come across. One become two and then the trickle led to a collection of 273 coins buried in one stash. It is suspected that they belonged to a soldier who buried them for safekeeping but never returned. The money represented a year's wages, and has coins stamped with other emperors, including Augustus, Vitellius, Galba and Tiberius.

It is thought that the coins had been placed in a container that rotted away.

Experts described the Gobowen hoard as important.

To read the complete article (subscription required), see:
Detectorist uses a Roman's deposit for his mortgage (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/detectorist-uses-a-romans-deposit-for-his-mortgage-j3v7hw5rd)

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