St Albans Roman coin hoard on display at British Museum
Gold coins on display in the British Museum - Credit: Archant
A HOARD of rare gold coins found by a metal detectorist on land in the north of St Albans is now on display at the British Museum.
The district council revealed the discovery of the 159 coins last October after they were declared a nationally significant find.
It is believed to have been one of the largest Roman gold coin hoards ever discovered in the UK and dates to the end of the Roman rule in Britain.
The coins, called solidi, were found on private land to the north of the district and were scattered across a fairly wide area.
Council museums’ staff believe the hoard was disturbed in the last couple of hundred years due to quarrying or ploughing on the site.
The coins can now be seen in a cabinet in Room 69a at the British Museum with a citation explaining that they would have been used for major transactions and that they bear the heads of several Roman emperors.
