St Albans Hoard facts for kids

The St Albans Hoard is a huge collection of ancient gold coins from the late Roman Empire. A metal detectorist found it in a field near St Albans, Hertfordshire, England, in 2012. Many people believe it is one of the biggest collections of Roman gold coins ever found in Britain.

The hoard contains 159 special gold coins called solidi. These coins were made in the last few decades of the fourth century AD. This was close to the end of the Roman time in Britain. After about 408 AD, new Roman coins stopped being used in Britain. This caused the money system and large-scale industries to break down.

How the Hoard Was Found

Most of the coins came from important Roman mints. These were like coin factories in Mediolanum (which is now Milan) and Ravenna in Italy. The coins were made when different Emperors ruled. These Emperors included Gratian, Valentinian II, Theodosius I, Arcadius and Honorius.

A solidus coin from Emperor Arcadius. Coins like this were found in the St Albans hoard.

Westley Carrington from Berkhamsted found the coins. He had just bought a beginner's metal detector. He found 40 coins first. He took them back to the shop where he bought the detector to ask what to do. The shop owners told a local expert about the find. This expert is called a finds liaison officer.

In October 2012, they went back to the field. They found 119 more coins. This brought the total to 159 coins. Experts think the coins were probably kept in a wooden box or a cloth bag. These containers would have rotted away over time. No other items were found with the coins. The coins were spread out over an area of about 15 meters. This was probably because of quarrying or ploughing in the last 200 years. It might have happened as recently as the Second World War. That was the last time the field was used for growing crops.

Why Were These Coins Buried?

David Thorold is a curator at the Verulamium Museum in St Albans. He explained that people usually buried coins for two main reasons. Sometimes, it was for religious reasons. They might offer them as a gift to their gods. Other times, people buried their wealth to keep it safe. This happened if they feared danger, like war or trouble.

Finding so many gold solidi coins is unusual. These coins were not used every day. They were very valuable. They acted like a guarantee for smaller bronze and silver coins. You could exchange many small coins for one solidus.

Who Used These Gold Coins?

Only very rich people used these gold coins. This included wealthy merchants, big landowners, and soldiers getting large payments. They would use solidi for very expensive purchases. This might be buying land or large amounts of goods. The coins found in the hoard are in excellent condition. They do not seem to have been used much in daily life.

Other Roman Treasures

The St Albans Hoard was likely buried a little earlier than another famous find. This is the larger Hoxne Hoard. It was found in Suffolk in 1992. That hoard included 569 gold solidi and almost 15,000 other coins.

This is not the first treasure found near St Albans. St Albans was once the important Roman town of Verulamium. In 1932, a collection of silver coins from the 2nd century was found at Beech Bottom Dyke. These coins were called denarii.

What Happens to Found Treasure?

The find is covered by a law called the Treasure Act 1996. This law says that a group of experts from the British Museum must look at the coins. They write a report for a local coroner. The coroner then decides if the coins are "treasure trove". This means they are very old and valuable.

The local council bought the coins for £98,500 in 2015. The St Albans Hoard is now on display. You can see it at the Verulamium Museum.