After more than 30 years of persistent searching, 2 metal detector experts Reg Mead and Richard Miles have finally discovered a huge treasure of coins in a field in Jersey, England. They have unearthed between 30,000 and 50,000 gold and silver coins that had been buried under a clay mound for more than 2,000 years.
Archaeologists are unearthing Europe’s largest treasure of ancient coins
Experts say the coins are from the Celtic and Roman periods and date from 50 BC – at the end of the Iron Age. The owner of this treasure is speculated to be the Coriosolitae tribe living in the area of present-day St Malo and Dinan (France).
The Coriosolitae buried their possessions to avoid being plundered by Julius Caesar’s army. Julius Caesar’s army at that time was very powerful and invaded northwestern France, causing the Coriosolitae tribal community to move to the coast.
Some of the Coriosolitae people then took their possessions and swam across the English Channel to the present-day British island of Jersey. And the safest way not to be discovered by Caesar’s army and robbed of their possessions was to bury them in a secret place.
The coins found in the treasure
Dr Philip de Jersey, an expert on Celtic-era coins at the University of Oxford (UK), told the Daily Mail: “This discovery is very interesting and has very important implications. It will provide new information, not only about the coins but also about the people who use them.”
Reg Mead and Richard Miles, the owners of this treasure of coins determined to be worth up to £10 million, have decided to display the entire coin collection at the Jersey Museum so that visitors can see witness.