German find yields 934 Roman silver coins
The hoard from Wesseling is considered Germany’s largest coin find from the time of Emperor Hadrian.
In western Germany, 934 Roman silver denarii have been found. The coin hoard was shown to the public in Bonn on Tuesday, after a metal detectorist had reported the find near Wesseling.
Metal detectorist Oliver Riedl found the first coins in a field south of Cologne. When his detector continued to react, he alerted the authorities. Archaeologists subsequently excavated a total of 934 silver denarii.
Together, the coins weigh about 3.1 kilograms. According to North Rhine-Westphalia’s archaeological service, they were probably deliberately buried in the second quarter of the second century AD. The owner may have wanted to protect the money, but why the hoard was never retrieved remains unknown.
The find is considered the largest coin hoard discovered in Germany from the period of Emperor Hadrian. This is a period designation, not a claim that it is Germany’s largest Roman hoard of any kind.
The individual coins vary in age. According to AP, the oldest coin on display dates from 148 BC, when Rome was still a republic. The hoard as a whole was probably collected and buried later.
Archaeologists use the pay of a Roman legionary as a rough comparison. According to the sources cited, an ordinary soldier earned about 300 denarii a year. Since about half was withheld for food and equipment, a legionary would have had to save roughly six years’ disposable income to accumulate this sum.
That comparison says nothing about the coins’ purchasing power in a specific place or period. The owner may have been a soldier, but could also have been a trader or someone from the local elite. Above all, the find shows how much money was in circulation in the Roman frontier region.
Fact-check Approved with corrections · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core facts have been firmly confirmed by AP and WDR. The popular salary comparison has been refined because the source refers to six years’ disposable income, not three full years’ wages.
- confirmed The find consists of 934 Roman silver denarii. — Number given by AP and WDR. source
- confirmed The coins weigh about 3.1 kilograms. — AP gives the weight. source
- confirmed The hoard was probably buried in the second quarter of the second century. — Attributed to the archaeological service in AP. source
- confirmed A legionary earned about 300 denarii a year and kept about half. — AP quotes the archaeological service. source
- incorrect The hoard represents three times the annual salary of a Roman soldier. — The source calculates approximately six years’ disposable income, because about half of the pay was withheld. source
1 correction(s) applied
- Was: The hoard represents three times the annual salary of a Roman soldier.Now: A legionary would have had to save approximately six years’ disposable income to accumulate this sum. (The source gives an annual wage of 300 denarii, of which about half was withheld.)
Editor's note
The find, the number of coins and the comparison with legionaries were checked against AP and WDR. The comparison with three years’ wages was corrected to approximately six years’ disposable income.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „archeologie romeinse rijk”
- AD — „archeologie romeinse rijk”
- de Volkskrant — „archeologie romeinse rijk”