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Britain’s largest-known coin hoard from the reign of Emperor Nero (AD 54-68) has gone on display at Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum for the first time since its discovery.
Known as the Worcestershire Conquest Hoard, the collection of 1,368 coins was discovered in a pot of local Severn Valley ware as a chance find in 2023, in a back garden in the parish of Leigh and Bransford. It had been placed at the bottom of a ditch, possibly a Roman boundary, and is thought to have been buried around AD 55.
As the hoard mostly consists of silver denarii, the denomination in which the Roman army was paid, it has been suggested that it might represent part of a soldier’s pay package, equivalent to around six years of wages. Alternatively, it could be the savings of a local tradesperson, who had buried their riches during the turbulent early years of Nero’s reign, when the conquest of Britain – initiated by Claudius in AD 43 – was still far from complete. Either way, it would have been a significant amount of money: not only the largest Neronian hoard yet found in Britain, but the fourth largest Claudio-Neronian example.
Among the silver coins is one gold stater minted in the name of Eisu, leader of the local Dobunni tribe, whose name appears over a typical Celtic horse and wheel design. Another coin highlights the vast reach of the Roman Empire: an issue of King Juba that was minted in Utica (modern Tunisia). ‘There are lots of lovely insights into mythology and religion, everyday life, and of course conquest,’ Kate Potter-Farrant, Curatorial and Archaeological Finds Arts Scholar Intern at the museum, explained.
The hoard is currently being assessed in accordance with the 1996 Treasure Act: see http://www.finds.org.uk/treasure for more information about the legal obligations of finders of potential Treasure in England and Wales, http://www.treasuretrovescotland.co.uk for the law in Scotland, and http://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/advice-finders-treasure-northern-ireland for Northern Ireland. It is hoped, however, that Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum will ultimately be able to acquire the coins for permanent display.
The hoard will be on show at the museum until the end of March. For more information on the fundraising campaign, please contact the museum directly; you can find details at http://www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk/museums/worcester-city-art-gallery-museum.
Text: Rebecca Preedy
