Frome Hoard in Taunton (From This is The West Country)
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Frome Hoard in Taunton
7:20pm Thursday 8th September 2011 in News
THE largest find of Roman coins in a single container ever discovered in Britain has returned from the British Museum to be displayed in the new Museum of Somerset.
The hoard was saved for the nation thanks to a fundraising campaign led by Somerset County Council’s Museums Service, and it will take pride of place in the newly refurbished museum which opens from midday on Thursday, September 29.
The hoard of 52,503 coins was discovered by metal detectorist Dave Crisp in a field near Frome in April 2010.
Visitors to the new museum will be able to find out more about the history of the coins and how they were discovered as part of the museum’s many new exhibitions.
The hoard was purchased through external grants and donations, notably from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund.
County councillor and Cabinet Member for Community Christine Lawrence said: “I am delighted to see the Frome Hoard come home.
"We are extremely grateful to the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and all other funders who through their generous donations have ensured that the hoard will remain in Somerset.
“The Hoard is a nationally-important find.
"It is the second largest collection of coins ever to have been found in the country, and covers the issues of coins spanning the rule of 26 Roman emperors.
"It will form a stunning new exhibit in the Museum of Somerset.”
rasiel says...
3:19am Sun 18 Sep 11
Readers of this article may not know how easy it is to locate and own a real Roman coin, particularly in Britain where they are regularly found by detectorists though, of course, in much less eventful discoveries of one here, another there.
Owning one is just the beginning, you can learn a lot more about the person depicted on each using the Dirty Old Coins database (dirtyoldcoins.com) where you can learn how to identify most any Roman coin.
Let's hope that more of these hoards are discovered and reported that they may spark increased interest in this fascinating period of British history.