Thousands of Ancient Coins Unearthed in France

In the town of Senon in northeastern France, a common home-expansion project turned into a massive archaeological win when scores of Roman coins were unearthed. The unearthed coins turned up by the hundreds, then the thousands, bewildering the archaeologists who dug up the ancient grounds of what was once a Gallic village founded by Celtics that later became a vibrant Roman hub under the reign of Julius Caesar. A fire had reduced the town to ashes, leaving behind only traces of the past—and a numismatic hoard encompassing tens of thousands of bronze and copper coins dating from the A.D. 3rd century.

“The first hoard held an estimated 83 pounds of coins, which corresponds to approximately 23,000 to 24,000 coins,” says Vincent Geneviève, a National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research numismatist who was quoted by Live Science. Geneviève and his team believe another vessel at the dig site could contain up to 19,000 more coins. 

The specimens, filling vessels buried just below floorboards of leveled buildings, reflected several Gallic Empire rulers who had parted ways with Rome during the 3rd century, including Tetricus I, Tetricus II, and Victorinus. While the contemporary value of the coins would have been enough to compensate dozens of soldiers for months, archaeologists aren’t concluding that the hoard represented an emergency stash. Rather, the jars of coins may have essentially served as household banks where money was stored, withdrawn, and deposited.

Pursuant to French heritage laws, the unearthed hoard is being held in the custody of state ownership, and the coins will be preserved for further research. Meanwhile, the ancient site, now digitally mapped and memorialized, has been returned to the homeowner to continue with an expansion of their property.