Roman Hoard Found in North Wales

The two Roman coin hoards discovered by metal-detectorists in the Conwy Valley have been declared treasure by the Assistant Coroner for North Wales (East & Central), Kate Robertson.David Moss and Tom Taylor found the two hoards in Caerhun Community, Conwy, during the winter of 2018-2019.The larger hoard (Treasure Case 19.01) was found in a ceramic vessel which contained 2,733 coins, a mix of silver denarii minted between 32 BC and AD 235, as well as silver and copper-alloy radiates (also known as antoniniani) struck between AD 215 and 270.

The copper-alloy coins appear to have been put loosely in the pot, but most of the silver coins were held in two leather bags, which were placed at the very top of the hoard.The smaller hoard (Treasure Case 19.03) comprises 37 silver denarii, ranging in date from 32 BC to AD 221, which were found scattered across a small area in the immediate vicinity of the larger hoard.

Reduced to 60% of original (1004 x 668)

Remembering an episode of the TV programme Time Team, when they discovered the larger hoard, they carefully excavated the pot, before wrapping it in bandages and reporting both hoards to Dr Susie White, Finds Officer for the Portable Antiquities Scheme in Wales (PAS Cymru) based at Wrexham County Borough Museum & Archives.

Huge surprise

David Moss said: “We had only just started metal-detecting when we made these totally unexpected finds. On the day of discovery, just before Christmas 2018, it was raining heavily, so I took a look at Tom and made my way across the field towards him to tell him to call it a day on the detecting, when all of a sudden, I accidentally clipped a deep object making a signal. It came as a huge surprise when I dug down and eventually revealed the top of the vessel that held the coins.”“People do not realise the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes at the national museum, from excavating the coins, to looking after them and identifying them so they can be reported on as treasure……. it’s a huge process to be able to see the work unfold……to be involved at first hand as finders is an incredible experience.”

The hoards were then taken to Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales for micro-excavation and identification.Louise Mumford (Senior Conservator of Archaeology at Amgueddfa Cymru) said: “In the conservation lab, investigation at the top of the pot quickly revealed that some of the coins had been in bags made from extremely thin leather, traces of which remained. It is very rare for organic materials such as this to survive in the soil.“The surviving fragments, which included two fragments of a stitched seam, were preserved and will provide information about the type of leather used and how the bags were made

https://uk.minelab.com/blog/post/minelab-manticore-uncovers-one-of-the-largest-roman-coin-hoards-ever-found-in-the-uk

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RedBaron · M

So this is 7-year-old news?

TheSirfurryanimalWales · 61-69, M

@RedBaron no…because it’s only been made public in the last week or so.

RedBaron · M

@TheSirfurryanimalWales OK

NativePortlander1970 · 51-55

Too bad they won't get a single pence for their find.

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ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@NativePortlander1970 OK. That's very strange because the rule is that the museum in question is expected to pay a reward. But Gretna is in Scotland and the rules I quoted are specifically for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland; perhaps it's different in Scotland.

There's a report on the subject for 2022: https://www.ncmd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Treasure-Act-1996-Annual-Report-for-2022.pdf

Here is what the British Museum says is the process:

Valuation and acquisition

There are several different stages to the valuation process. Here are the basic steps of the Valuation and acquisition process. There can be variations to this and throughout the valuation process we provide the opportunity for interested parties to participate, whether by providing your own private valuation, providing comments or even donating their share of the find towards the museum which wishes to acquire the find(s).

The basic steps:

The Find is declared Treasure by the Coroner
The Find is provisionally valued by one or more independent expert valuers.
The Find is considered at a Treasure Valuation Committee meeting alongside the provisional valuation(s).
The Treasure Valuation Committee recommends a value for the Find to the Secretary of State. The interested parties are asked whether they agree with the Committee's recommendation. If they do not, and wish the Committee to review the case (a 'challenge'), they must supply new and relevant evidence within 28 days. If this evidence is provided, the Committee will review the case at an upcoming meeting. The Committee may review a case a maximum of two times (assuming its recommendation remains the same).
If there are no challenges to the Committee's recommendation, the Secretary of State will confirm the value and allocation of the reward. Parties who have asked for a review of the case by the Committee but still disagree with its recommendation can make representations to the Secretary of State, within 28 days of the last recommendation by the Committee. The Secretary of State's decision is final.
The Museum is invoiced for the amount confirmed by the Secretary of State. FInders and Landowners are contacted to provide their bank details.
The Museum has a target time of four months to pay the invoice (this may be extended if actively fundraising.)
Upon receipt of the invoiced amount, the reward is paid to the interested parties.
Interested parties who fail to provide their bank details within six months of a Museum paying for a find may forfeit their reward and the money eligible to be returned to the Museum.

Note: It may be desirable for straightforward and common cases to be valued 'remotely' (on the basis of photographs). Interested parties for those cases will be given the opportunity to object to a remote valuation, with the understanding that it may take longer to arrange for any items that need to be seen in person to be transported to the British Museum, where the Committee meets.

https://finds.org.uk/treasure/advice/finders

I asked Duck.ai this:

list of people who have been paid for treasure in the uk with the amounts they actually received.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=lm&q=list+of+people+who+have+been+paid+for+treasure+in+the+uk&ia=chat

And it gave me a list of people who have been paid. The highest payout being to Lisa Grace & Adam Staples for the Chew Valley Hoard discovered in 2019. They got £4.3 million.

It's confirmed by this article in The Irish News: https://www.irishnews.com/news/uk/detectorist-hails-lottery-payout-five-years-after-finding-ancient-coins-CH4APQEN55LXLMF2ZH7TXKC3PA/

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