Iron Age coins worth millions unearthed in UK's Jersey
- 12 years ago
Two metal detector enthusiasts uncover a massive discovery on the British island of Jersey.
Reg Mead and Richard Miles found nearly 50,000 coins from the Iron Age, thought to have been hidden away from Julius Caesar's advancing empire.
They had been treasure hunting for nearly 30 years before unearthing the find.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) TREASURE HUNTER, REG MEAD, SAYING:
"We hit something hard. We just put the shovel in here and moved it. We hear that grinding noise of metal rubbing against metal. Just flicked and out came five Iron Age coins. You just go numb. You say: isn't that lovely? And it's a very quiet feeling, isn't it? Wow."
Each coin is thought to be worth up to 200 pounds -- or over 300 dollars -- making the find potentially worth millions.
They are believed to date from around the year 50BC, when Caesar's armies were advancing north-west through France.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEIL MAHER, CONSERVATOR, JERSEY MUSEUM, SAYING:
"So they are from the Celts, from the French who were being attacked by Rome and occupied by Rome at that time. It's certainly one of the biggest. Nothing like this has been found in over 50 years. None of the people working on it had ever done anything like this in their careers."
The find is said to be northern Europe's biggest hoard of Iron Age coins.
Sarah Sheffer, Reuters
Reg Mead and Richard Miles found nearly 50,000 coins from the Iron Age, thought to have been hidden away from Julius Caesar's advancing empire.
They had been treasure hunting for nearly 30 years before unearthing the find.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) TREASURE HUNTER, REG MEAD, SAYING:
"We hit something hard. We just put the shovel in here and moved it. We hear that grinding noise of metal rubbing against metal. Just flicked and out came five Iron Age coins. You just go numb. You say: isn't that lovely? And it's a very quiet feeling, isn't it? Wow."
Each coin is thought to be worth up to 200 pounds -- or over 300 dollars -- making the find potentially worth millions.
They are believed to date from around the year 50BC, when Caesar's armies were advancing north-west through France.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEIL MAHER, CONSERVATOR, JERSEY MUSEUM, SAYING:
"So they are from the Celts, from the French who were being attacked by Rome and occupied by Rome at that time. It's certainly one of the biggest. Nothing like this has been found in over 50 years. None of the people working on it had ever done anything like this in their careers."
The find is said to be northern Europe's biggest hoard of Iron Age coins.
Sarah Sheffer, Reuters