A collection of Roman silver denarii found in a field in the leafy Dorset village of Chilfrome will be sold by Noonans Mayfair on November 12. The sale encompasses 57 lots that include 97 coins dating from 141 B.C. to 46 A.D.

The find was made on Ash Wednesday (March 21) in 2021 by metal detecting enthusiast Trenton Oliver. A computer engineer by trade, Olver has been detecting since the age of 11. “I was at work that day, but decided to go out for a while on the way home with my Nokta Makro Simplex+ to one of the several fields that I have permission to search on – through my computer business, I look after several farmers’ computers and they allow me to go on their land. On this particular day, I was on my own digging a hole when my metal detector started making a very odd sound – going louder then faint. I didn’t realize when I was digging that I was already unearthing coins and I found one, then another, then another.”

He continued: “I tried to call the landowner to get them to come to see and also ask them to bring some bags as I had nothing to put all the coins in – she came out and saw me find the last coins. I had to take them to my parents to wash them, as I hadn’t told my wife Stella that I was out detecting but I had to own up, as we have an agreement that I don’t go out detecting at bank holidays. When I contacted the Finds Liaison Oficer, they wanted to send out an archaeologist from Dorset Museum on Good Friday!”

The find was not Oliver’s first, but his biggest. “I have found other Roman coins, Viking silver ingots and even a gilded silver whistle which is now at the British Museum.

As Bradley Hopper, Head of Coin department at Noonans added: “This is an extremely exciting collection that represents the beginning of the Roman Occupation in Britain and is a testament to a key event in British history in 43AD and the conquest of the British Tribes. The hoard was deposited right at the heart of this activity around 47AD, lying almost equidistant between the important hill forts and not only is it of importance to the history of Dorset, it is important nationally as it is the only known purely Roman hoard from the Roman invasion of South West England. Why the coins were buried is not known, but one suggestion is that the coins were the lost wages or pay-packet of a Roman soldier, but who knows!” 

The hoard was disclaimed by the Dorset Museum and is therefore being sold at auction. Oliver will share the money from the sale of the coins with the landowner and is putting his portion towards a new house.

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