Swiss farmer unearths 4000 Roman coins

In an announcement this week about the more than 4,000 coins, a news release from the Swiss member state Aargau stated (translated via an unofficial translation) that it is considered one of the largest coin hoards in the country.

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

As The Guardian reports, the trove of coins collectively weighs 33 pounds, or 15 kilograms.

When he began unearthing coins the farmer said he realized they were likely from the Roman-era as he was aware that months earlier the remains of an early Roman-era settlement were unearthed near a Swiss town called Frick.

Buried Roman coins The number of coins found in the farmer’s orchard stands at 4,166 and they are reported to be in excellent condition.

The hoard has been described as one of the biggest finds of its kind ever to be unearthed in Switzerland.

The coins’ imprints remained legible, and an expert dated the money to the period stretching from the reign of Emperor Aurelian (270-275) to the rule of Maximian (286-305), the most recent coins made in 294.

Thousands of coins were found in a cherry orchard in Ueken, Northern Switzerland. It is land that has always been farmed’.

Explaining how the treasure could have lain undisturbed for so long, archaeologist Georg Matter told AFP: ‘The orchard where the coins were found was never built on. How much the coins were worth today was beside the point, Matter said. The excellent condition of the coins suggests they were barely in circulation before being buried.

A few of the coins, which are made mainly of bronze but with an unusually high silver content of five per cent, were buried in small leather pouches.

The Ueken treasure is set to go on display at the Vindonissa de Brugg Museum in Aargau.

“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”.

The exact purchasing value of the money is not known, but they probably represented about a year or two of wages. “But the objects found belong to the public, in accordance with Swiss law”.