A hoard of 20,000 Roman copper-alloy coins unearthed last year by a metal detectorist in Seaton, England, has been removed from the ground, cleaned and officially declared a treasure, according to a Sept. 26 report by The Telegraph.

The Telegraph reports that 51-year-old Laurence Edgerton, a builder, came upon the so-called Seaton Down Hoard, which features coins that date back to the fourth century, in November 2013 while using his metal detector near the site of an excavated Roman villa in Seaton, a town located on England’s southern coast. 

"Realising the significance of his find after digging up the first shovel-full of coins, he contacted the authorities and a team of archaeologists were called in,” The Telegraph’s story reads. 

Edgerton was quoted as saying he parked his car next to the find and slept there for three nights.

Read the full Telegraph story here.

According to the BBC, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter is trying to obtain the coins with the intent to display them. 

The coins, which according to experts quoted by the BBC equal about two years’ worth of wages for a Roman solider and “were buried in what was then a normal way to put away savings,” have not yet been assigned an estimated value.

Coin World will continue covering this interesting story of found treasure as it unfolds.

Read the full BBC story here.

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