Colkirk: Roman coin hoard sells for £15,000 at (Noonans) auction

[DonnaML]

See https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-67626684? 

A hoard of Roman coins discovered by a metal detectorist scouring farmland has fetched more than £15,000 after going under the hammer.

More than 430 coins were found buried in the village of Colkirk, near Fakenham, Norfolk.
A collection of 73 pieces, including an extremely rare coin featuring a phoenix on a globe, was auctioned in London.

The anonymous finder had shown "perseverance", said coin specialist Nigel Mills, from Noonans auctioneers.

"Some of the people I've spoken to recently, who have found some amazing finds, are spending a lot of time detecting - hours and hours - and they don't give up," he said. 

"They keep going and that's the secret in so many things - don't give up, keep looking."

The Colkirk hoard, believed to date back to the early 5th Century, was spread out across a third of an acre on arable farmland, although the majority of finds were discovered in a 1.5m (59in) radius.

[More at link.]

See also this article from yesterday at https://historyfirst.com/coin-hoard-buried-in-fall-of-roman-britain-estimated-at-20000/ :

A hoard of over 400 silver coins buried during the collapse of Roman rule in Britain is expected to make £20,000 at auction after it was discovered by a metal detectorist.

The coins, found in Norfolk, include a rare commemorative issue depicting a phoenix — a symbol of Roman immortality and renewal — that may have been given to soldiers in 380AD, after the defeat of a Gothic army in the Balkans. By the time the coin was stashed, a generation later, barbarians were threatening Italy and Britain was in disarray.

It was in 2020 that the detectorist, who wishes to remain anonymous, found the first coins of the Colkirk hoard on arable land a few miles outside Fakenham. After hours of searching that produced a medieval halfpenny and a few buttons, he had decided to call it a day. Starting back to his car he found a single siliqua — a late Roman silver coin. Searching the immediate vicinity, he found more of the coins almost at once and had recovered around 40 by the end of the day, from an area of about 20m2.

The next day he found a similar number of siliquae. Over the next two years, he returned as often as possible, working around Covid lockdowns, to increase the total number of finds to nearly 300, from an area of almost a third of an acre. Late in 2021, an excavation at the site found more coins concentrated together in an area of 1.5 metre radius. No trace of a container was found and experts believe the coins were deposited together loose or in a container made from organic material that subsequently decayed.

Altogether, 432 coins were identified as belonging to the hoard, dating from about the mid 4th century until the early 5th century. Nigel Mills, coin and artefact specialist at Noonans, said: “The hoard is likely to have been deposited at the beginning of the 5th century, with the latest coin of Honorius dating no later than 402. Other Roman treasure finds of gold and silver also from East Anglia such as the Hoxne and Thetford hoards reflect the wealth and importance of the area.”

Significantly, some of the coins were “clipped”, with silver cut from their edges. According to the auctioneers, it is likely that those Roman coins left in circulation after a halt of new shipments were gradually clipped by the Romano-British, with the clippings recycled to produce new, unofficial coins. One coin in the Colkirk hoard, lot 165, purports to be a late 4th-century coin of emperor Arcadius, but is an unofficial issue of this type. It may have been minted shortly after the end of formal Roman control around 410.

[More at link]

Did anyone buy any of the siliquae from the hoard sold earlier today? They didn't go for very high prices. I bought one, a siliqua of Arcadius. I won't make the mistake of posting a photo before it arrives, though! 

The rest of the hoard is scheduled to be sold next year. 

[Xeno]

Wow totally amazing. Makes me wish I didn’t live in the USA so I could find something like this…. Where were they being offered for sale? 

[John Conduitt]

1 hour ago, DonnaML said:

See https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-67626684? 

A hoard of Roman coins discovered by a metal detectorist scouring farmland has fetched more than £15,000 after going under the hammer.

More than 430 coins were found buried in the village of Colkirk, near Fakenham, Norfolk.
A collection of 73 pieces, including an extremely rare coin featuring a phoenix on a globe, was auctioned in London.

The anonymous finder had shown "perseverance", said coin specialist Nigel Mills, from Noonans auctioneers.

"Some of the people I've spoken to recently, who have found some amazing finds, are spending a lot of time detecting - hours and hours - and they don't give up," he said. 

"They keep going and that's the secret in so many things - don't give up, keep looking."

The Colkirk hoard, believed to date back to the early 5th Century, was spread out across a third of an acre on arable farmland, although the majority of finds were discovered in a 1.5m (59in) radius.

[More at link.]

See also this article from yesterday at https://historyfirst.com/coin-hoard-buried-in-fall-of-roman-britain-estimated-at-20000/ :

A hoard of over 400 silver coins buried during the collapse of Roman rule in Britain is expected to make £20,000 at auction after it was discovered by a metal detectorist.

The coins, found in Norfolk, include a rare commemorative issue depicting a phoenix — a symbol of Roman immortality and renewal — that may have been given to soldiers in 380AD, after the defeat of a Gothic army in the Balkans. By the time the coin was stashed, a generation later, barbarians were threatening Italy and Britain was in disarray.

It was in 2020 that the detectorist, who wishes to remain anonymous, found the first coins of the Colkirk hoard on arable land a few miles outside Fakenham. After hours of searching that produced a medieval halfpenny and a few buttons, he had decided to call it a day. Starting back to his car he found a single siliqua — a late Roman silver coin. Searching the immediate vicinity, he found more of the coins almost at once and had recovered around 40 by the end of the day, from an area of about 20m2.

The next day he found a similar number of siliquae. Over the next two years, he returned as often as possible, working around Covid lockdowns, to increase the total number of finds to nearly 300, from an area of almost a third of an acre. Late in 2021, an excavation at the site found more coins concentrated together in an area of 1.5 metre radius. No trace of a container was found and experts believe the coins were deposited together loose or in a container made from organic material that subsequently decayed.

Altogether, 432 coins were identified as belonging to the hoard, dating from about the mid 4th century until the early 5th century. Nigel Mills, coin and artefact specialist at Noonans, said: “The hoard is likely to have been deposited at the beginning of the 5th century, with the latest coin of Honorius dating no later than 402. Other Roman treasure finds of gold and silver also from East Anglia such as the Hoxne and Thetford hoards reflect the wealth and importance of the area.”

Significantly, some of the coins were “clipped”, with silver cut from their edges. According to the auctioneers, it is likely that those Roman coins left in circulation after a halt of new shipments were gradually clipped by the Romano-British, with the clippings recycled to produce new, unofficial coins. One coin in the Colkirk hoard, lot 165, purports to be a late 4th-century coin of emperor Arcadius, but is an unofficial issue of this type. It may have been minted shortly after the end of formal Roman control around 410.

[More at link]

Did anyone buy any of the siliquae from the hoard sold earlier today? They didn't go for very high prices. I bought one, a siliqua of Arcadius. I won't make the mistake of posting a photo before it arrives, though! 

The rest of the hoard is scheduled to be sold next year. 

Yes I got two. One Valens imitation and a Honorius siliqua, both at the lower end of the nicer condition examples. Although I haven’t even paid for them yet so won’t be posting 😁

[Deinomenid]

52 minutes ago, Xeno said:

Where were they being offered for sale?

Noonan's, as  per post  title 🙂 eg - https://www.noonans.co.uk/auctions/calendar/736/catalogue/473532/?

[kirispupis]

Very cool. I wish I lived somewhere that I could find ancient things with a metal detector.

Some years ago we buried a bunch of pennies across our yard so our kids would find them with the metal detector and get excited that they actually found something. 

[DonnaML]

Here's the Portable Antiquities Scheme link further describing the hoard, with a breakdown of the number of coins found for each emperor from Constantius II through Honorius: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/989715

[panzerman]

7 hours ago, Xeno said:

Wow totally amazing. Makes me wish I didn’t live in the USA so I could find something like this…. Where were they being offered for sale? 

There have been some great finds in the US/ "Saddleridge Hoard" beats out the British find by a country mile. Definately places like the UK/ Germany/ France/ Italy/ Belgium have had spectacular finds. The Trier Hoard/Arras Hoard to name two.

The recent Casa della Vestalli Hoard of 397 MS Solidi all from Anthemius/ Procopius would have been my dream find. I wouuld keep the most perfect types/ sell rest at auction.

The Arras Hoard had rumors of (2) 100 aurei weight medalions/ never been solved.

Where I was born (Jülich) Roman coins/ artifacts have been found/ also some goldguldens from Jülich-Cleve-Berg.

The Trier aurei hoard 2800 coins. If I would find that I would be in heaven!

[Xeno]

@panzerman That would be the find of a lifetime for sure. I am in California so everything will be pretty recent but could find some cool gold rush stuff.

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

@Xeno there is an apocryphal story that this medallion was found off to the side of the 405 in Southern California, proving that the Romans had a presence there 🤗

[Victrix]

Managed to thankfully win one at near my max 😄. 2/3rd of the hoard will be sold in the near future by Noonan so there will be chance for the others to get one!

Roman Imperial Coinage, Arcadius (383-408), Siliqua, Milan, 395-402, d n arcadi-vs p f avg, pearl-diademed, draped and cuirassed bust right, ‘Eastern’ Pteryges, rev. virtvs ro-manorvm, Roma seated left on cuirass, holding sceptre and Victoriola on globe, md ps in exergue, 1.32g/12h (MC 393, this coin; Hoxne 707 [C]; RIC X p.321, 1227; RSC 27b). Edge a little ragged, a few surface blisters, otherwise better than very fine 

This lot is a detectorist find and is registered with the The Portable Antiquities Scheme. The find number is NMS-AC7F17.