Gold coins found in Netherlands from last days of Roman Empire

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/47551

by petethomas • 9 years ago

97 21 9 years ago

autokad• 9 years ago

its really interesting the things you find, even in open fields. usually useless iron and sometimes old guns.

once i found what looks a Smith & Wesson Model 1 - its mostly rust so hard to tell. it was in the cocked position, so I couldnt help but wonder if there was a story behind it.

Unfortunately, no gold coins =( that'd be an ultimate find

X86BSD• 9 years ago

Off topic but curious, who makes good metal detectors today? I haven't used one since I was a small kid. But I might look at one. I just don't even know who makes good ones these days.

asmithmd1• 9 years ago

Whites is brand that has been around since the 1950's

https://www.whiteselectronics.com/product-category/metal-det...

proctor• 9 years ago

The Tesoro Compadre[0] is pretty great and very affordable.

Best in higher end might be Nokta[1] and its sister company Makro[2].

Anything from any of those three companies will be good and high value.

[0]http://www.tesoro.com/product/detectors/compadre/index.html

[1]http://noktadetectors.com/

[2]http://makrodetector.com/

kesselvon• 9 years ago

On the WW1 front lines farmers still turn out old artillery shells fairly regularly. They still find old Wehrmacht gear in the Belorussian swamps

twic• 9 years ago

Swamps my arse, we still find German bombs in undesirable suburbs of London:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/mar/03/second-world...

Of course, it's a mutual thing:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39828327

But, as usual, it's the French who practice this at its highest level:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zone_Rouge

zw1234565• 9 years ago

This story reminds me of my Uncle, who is one of those end of the world preper type people who has been convinced for the last 30 years that we are on the brink of some sort of collapse. So he bought a bunch of gold and buried somewhere it out on the farm where he lives. He has not told anyone where including his own kids because he doesn't trust anyone. I am guessing his heirs will be out there with metal locators when he passes because I don't think he will ever tell anyone where it is. He is mum about how much gold but the speculation by the family is that it has to be pretty significant just based on his net worth. If they don't find it, maybe someday archeologists will dig up a big box full of krugerrands.

ChuckMcM2• 9 years ago

Nice. And this is how little treasure maps / quests are born :-). In 2013 a couple found a bunch of gold coins in California from the late 1800s[1], they had a 'face value' of $27,980. Had the unknown owner of these coins instead given them to a firm who would buy and equivalent amount of the brand new Dow Jones Industrial average stocks (first conceived in 1896) with its nominal value of 62.76. They would have gone through many ups and downs and be worth just under $10M, but as collectibles they are worth over $11M, so remember that when people say your Uncle is crazy :-). If you wait long enough, even crazy stuff seems reasonable.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_Ridge_Hoard

zw1234565• 9 years ago

My uncle is crazy, but not stupid (he has a PHD in physics) so, who knows :) Chuckle.

johnchristopher• 9 years ago

Yep, but I suppose much of the growth of the coins' value is a bump at the end, whereas the stock grows quietly ?

SirLJ• 9 years ago

+1 for the great story

pg314• 9 years ago

Aren't you forgetting the dividends? According to [1], if you reinvested the dividends in the DJIA, you would end up with $3 billion instead of $10 million.

[1] https://dqydj.com/dow-jones-return-calculator/

smoyer• 9 years ago

What's your uncle's address? You just published that he has a hoard on the Internet so perhaps treasure seekers will start searching before his demise?

zw1234565• 9 years ago

I know right, how fun would that be to watch all the people coming out with there metal detectors. But Ole uncle Bernie is pretty cantankerous, he might take a shot at people so best we keep that location quiet for the safety of all involved. Let's just say I grew up in a pretty rural place!

fern12• 9 years ago

archaeologists suspect the Middle Bronze Age tomb, perhaps on what was then a hill, was used in the 5th century as a handy place marker for the hoard.

This is like a mix of that scene in Fargo (movie version) and the season finale of Breaking Bad where the drug dealer is about to bribe Walter with the location of the remaining cash. Fascinating.

ada1981• 9 years ago

Curious what these coins are worth and if the finders were compensated.

The modern finders of the gold coins and the landowner have given the solidi on permanent loan to the Museum Valkhof in Nijmegen, which contains the largest collection of Roman finds in the Netherlands, where they are now on display, together again for the first time in decades, maybe even centuries.<

Gold coins found in Netherlands from last days of Roman Empire

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