Coin collectors and history buffs have been interested in coin hoards for hundreds of years. These hoards of rare coins are often found in forgotten places or buried in the ground.
It’s not clear where they came from or why they were hidden. Here are three well-known and interesting gold hoards. Each has a story that historians still don’t fully understand.
1. “The Hoxne Hoard” (England, 1992)
Eric Lawes, a metal detectorist, found a huge collection of Roman coins and other artifacts in a field near the town of Hoxne in Suffolk, England, in 1992.
It was an amazing find because it had more than 14,000 Roman coins, gold and silver jewelry, silver dishes, and other valuable things.
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The treasure was hidden in a pot, and what was inside showed how wealthy and interesting life was for Romans in Britain in the 4th and early 5th centuries.
The Mystery: The Hoxne Hoard was found to be from the late Roman Empire, but no one knows why it was buried.
People think that the treasure was hidden in Britain around the time that the Roman Empire fell, maybe when there were invasions or other problems.
Some experts think that the person who owned it may have hidden it to protect it from invading forces or because of a sudden personal crisis.
The finding has led to more discussion about how Roman Britain fell apart and how Roman customs were abandoned in the area.
Value: The coins and objects in the hoard were worth a lot of money. The Hoxne Hoard find is one of the most important in British archaeological history. It tells us a lot about Roman Britain’s economy and daily life.
2. The Saddle Ridge HoardÂ
In 2013, a couple walking their dog in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California found an old, rusty can hidden in the ground.
When they dug it up, they found more than 1,400 gold coins from 1847 to 1894 inside. The coins, mostly $20 gold pieces, were still brand new even though they had been hidden for more than one hundred years.
It’s “The Mystery.” The Saddle Ridge Hoard’s history is still a riddle. There is no record of how the coins got to be buried in the hills of California.
Some ideas say that the coins may have been hidden by someone during the Gold Rush, maybe because they were stolen, a business failed, or someone tried to hide a prize but failed.
Another idea is that the coins were hidden by a criminal or outlaw, maybe in the late 1800s, when lawlessness was common in the area.
No one is sure, and even after a lot of research, it’s still not clear where the hoard came from.
Value: The Saddle Ridge Hoard is thought to be worth more than $10 million, which makes it one of the most expensive gold coin finds in U.S. history. At sale, the coins were sold. Some very rare ones brought as much as $1 million each.
3. The Caistor HoardÂ
What They Found: In 2008, another metal detectorist in England, this time near the village of Caistor in Lincolnshire, found an amazing collection of Anglo-Saxon coins.
There were 92 gold coins in the find. Most of them were from the 9th and 10th centuries. The treasure was buried in one place, and many of the coins were still in perfect shape.
It’s “The Mystery.” Many people still have ideas about where the Caistor Hoard came from. The coins are thought to have belonged to a noble or trader in Anglo-Saxon times. They were probably buried during a very unstable time in England.
Some people may have hidden the treasure because of Viking raids or because the political situation was unstable during the Viking attacks in the 9th and 10th centuries.
No one knows for sure why the coins were gathered, but the fact that they are in such good shape suggests that they were either buried soon after their owner died or quickly hidden.
Even though it’s hard to say how much the whole hoard is worth, each coin is worth a lot, especially considering how important they are historically.
The hoard is an important piece of history because it shows important things about the Anglo-Saxon economy, trade, and politics.
Finally, some thoughts
Coin hoards are often the only physical evidence of a time that has been lost to history. The stories behind these hoards continue to fascinate us.
The strange stories behind these small groups of coins continue to pique people’s interest. It’s possible that they were buried during an invasion, because of bad luck, or even on purpose to keep them safe.
