Detectorists uncover potential record-breaking Roman treasure in Wales

David Moss and Ian Nicholson discovered a large collection of Roman silver coins while searching a field in North Wales last summer, adding to a previous find from 2018.

Moss initially found over 2,700 Roman coins in 2018, which experts at Amgueddfa Cymru officially declared a treasure. Last year, he and Nicholson located a large number of silver coins, estimated between 10,000 to 15,000, contained in several vessels during excavation.

The National Museum Cardiff is currently studying the combined finds, which weigh around 60 kilograms, to determine if they represent the largest Roman treasure ever found in Wales. Previous Welsh discoveries included 10,000 coins near Chepstow in the 1990s and nearly 6,000 in Sully in 2008.

However, these do not compare to larger finds in Britain, such as the 52,503 coins uncovered in Somerset in 2010 or the 54,951 coins from the Cunetio Hoard in Wiltshire, which remain the largest Roman coin finds in Great Britain. The coins include silver denarii, standard currency from the early Roman Empire, and silver-plated coins from the third century, similar to those found in the 2018 treasure and dated to around 270 AD.

Anthony Halse, of the South Wales and Monmouthshire Numismatic Society, suggests the coins may have belonged to Roman soldiers who hid their wealth during a period of instability. The exact location of the site remains undisclosed, and a formal valuation will determine payment to Moss and the landowner if the National Museum Cardiff chooses to acquire the treasure, as required by the Treasure Act 1996.