Found a Roman coin hoard in my own backyard last spring - 37 coins total

I was digging a post hole for a fence near my property in York and hit something hard about 2 feet down. Turned out to be a small ceramic pot packed with 37 silver coins from the late 3rd century. The land had never been surveyed before, so it was totally unexpected. It matters because it pushed back the known settlement date in that part of town by at least 150 years. The local museum took them for study, but I got to keep a few replicas. Has anyone else here stumbled on a find during normal yard work?

3 comments

3 Comments

tara_patel1mo ago

37 coins is a hell of a thing to find just digging a post hole. I'd probably still be shaking if that was me, honestly.

ray_campbell461mo agoTop Commenter

Kind of makes you wonder what stories those coins could tell if they could talk. A mix like that might have been someone's savings stash from way back, maybe during hard times when they didn't trust banks. Could have been a kid's collection too, but 37 coins feels more deliberate than that. Always makes me think about the old homesteads that used to be everywhere before people moved to town. You dig up something like that and it's like a little time capsule right there in the dirt.

casey6821mo ago

Used to think metal detecting was just a hobby for old guys with too much time on their hands. Not gonna lie, @tara_patel seeing your post actually made me reconsider that. Finding 37 coins buried like that is crazy, it's not just junk you're finding, it's history sitting right under our feet. I bet half those coins have stories nobody will ever know. Kind of makes you wonder what else is out there just waiting to be dug up. Still not gonna go buy a detector tomorrow, but I get the appeal now.