Roman coins found in Norfolk 'to make over £10k at auction' after being found by metal detectorist

A hoard of Roman coins, 432 in total, found in Norfolk is set to fetch over £10,000 at auction. They were discovered between 2020 and 2022 by a person using a metal detector in Fakenham.

The first set of 73 coins will be auctioned at Noonans Mayfair in London on December 6. They're expected to sell for £10,000 to £12,500.

The farmer and the person who found them will be sharing the money.

Nigel Mills, Coin & Artefact Specialist at Noonans, said: “The hoard had in fact spread out over a third of an acre through disturbance by ploughing and has been recorded under the treasure act and returned to the finder after being disclaimed. The hoard is likely to have been deposited at the beginning of the 5th century AD with the latest coin of Honorius dating no later than 402AD.

"Other Roman treasure finds of gold and silver also from East Anglia such as the Hoxne and Thetford hoards reflect the wealth and importance of the area. The most interesting coin in this hoard is an excessively rare presentation silver Third Miliarensis issued by Theodosius in 380AD.

"The coin has on the reverse a Phoenix standing on a globe with the legend PERPETVETAS. At this time the empire was ruled jointly by Gratian, his half-brother Valentinian II, and Theodosius so this coin together with an example of each of the other two co-emperors could have provided a donative payment of a Miliarensis celebrating a military victory.

"This coin is only the fifth known specimen (the other four are in museums) so this is the only one available to buy. We expect it to fetch £2,000-2,600.”