1,368 silver and gold coins from the Roman Empire found in England

A ceramic pot tucked into the Worcestershire soil turned out to be packed with ancient money. Inside were 1,368 coins from the early years of Roman rule in Britain. This hidden fortune marked a single moment in a changing land.

Archaeologists say the burial likely happened around AD 55, not long after Roman troops established control.

Research at University College London (UCL) identifies it as the largest hoard from the reign of Nero yet found in Britain, and places the latest coin in the pot at AD 55.

Coins give insight into early Rome

Research on the Worcestershire Conquest Hoard is being led by Murray Andrews at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. His team is studying the Roman coins themselves and the choices that shaped the hoard.

Most of the coins are denarii, which were the standard silver currency of Rome for centuries.

The series stretches from the late Roman Republic into the rule of Nero, so the hoard tracks a long span of political and economic change.

What is inside the pot

The single gold piece is a stater, an Iron Age coin type issued by the Dobunni, a local group whose territory included parts of modern Worcestershire.

Its presence among Roman coins shows how local and imperial money circulated side by side during the first decades of occupation.

The most recent coin in the pot dates to AD 55. That points to burial within a decade of the Claudian invasion, when the province was still being organized and supply lines were pushing west.

Why someone buried Roman coins

People do not bury that much cash on a whim. Hoarding often becomes more prevalent during conflict or uncertainty, patterns visible across the Roman world.

In Britain, the first generation after AD 43 saw rapid expansion of forts and roads, and it saw resistance and reprisals.

A stash like this could be savings from trade with the army or the proceeds from supplying grain and livestock. It could also be cash that needed to move safely along new routes, then never got recovered.

How the coins reached Worcestershire

The pot that held the hoard is local. It matches Severn Valley ware that was made around the Malvern Hills.

This industry had many kiln sites that were active through the Roman period. That detail matters because it ties the hoard to nearby craft and trade, rather than to a distant depot.

Roman campaigning depended on good logistics. Soldiers, animals, and construction needed steady supplies, and coin was the grease that kept the network moving.

The discoverers complied with the laws that safeguard nationally important finds. According to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, any potential Treasure must be reported to the local coroner within 14 days of its discovery.

The hoard was declared Treasure in June 2024 after review and is being valued by the Treasure Valuation Committee (TVC). That process ensures a fair price if a museum acquires it, and it keeps the record of the find intact for research.

Value of the Roman coins today

Curators in Worcestershire want the hoard to stay where it was found, so residents can see and study their own past.

Local authorities estimate the value at more than £100,000 ($135,000 USD), and a county campaign is raising funds to keep it on public display.

If fundraising falls short, ownership could pass to the finders and landowner. Public access would likely narrow, and the region would lose a powerful teaching resource.

Learning from Roman coins

Hoard composition tells stories that texts rarely preserve. The mix of Republican and early imperial denarii shows how long older money stayed in circulation, and how fast new issues spread through the province.

Marks on the coins and wear patterns can reveal how often they changed hands and where bankers tested them. Those details help map trade connections from the Mediterranean to the Severn.

Worcestershire sat near the edge of rapid imperial expansion in the AD 40s and 50s. Roads pushed west, forts dotted the landscape, and local communities adapted to new rules, new markets, and new risks.

A pot of money buried in a ditch is a plain act, but it speaks to that tense mix of opportunity and fear. The owner planned to return. That never happened.

Why this hoard is different

Many British hoards clustered in the late fourth century, when the province was unstable. This one lands much earlier, right at the start, which makes it rare and especially useful for studying the financial footprint of conquest.

It also contains a local gold stater alongside Roman silver, a combination that captures a transition in real time. The hoard is a clean sample of what people actually used and trusted in that year.

This find is not just a headline. It is a dataset that lets us test ideas about military supply, regional production, and the speed of cultural change.

When researchers publish the full catalogue, those records will feed larger projects on the circulation of Roman coins and hoarding behavior across the Empire. Hoards like this anchor models with hard numbers.

Looking ahead

The conservation team will stabilize the coins and record every detail, from inscriptions to metal content.

Catalogues and open records will let scholars compare this hoard with others and ask new questions about how early Roman Britain worked.

Patterns of stress and safety leave marks in the ground. Hoarding spikes in troubled times, and it falls when people trust the future.

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