934 Roman silver denarii found in Germany — Global News Canada

In Wesseling in western Germany, specialists discovered a hoard of 934 Roman silver denarii after amateur Oliver Riedl found several coins in a field using a metal detector. The Rhineland Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments said it was Germany’s largest coin hoard from the time of Emperor Hadrian.

Discovery in a field

Riedl came across several coins in a field near Wesseling, south of Cologne, about a year ago. The metal detector continued to give signals, so he contacted the relevant authorities. Specialists who began excavations found a total of 934 denarii.

The hoard weighs 3.1 kilograms. On September 22, 2026, the coins were put on display at the LVR-LandesMuseum in Bonn, Global News Canada reports.

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When the coins may have been hidden

According to the Rhineland Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments, the hoard was probably deliberately buried in the second quarter of the second century AD. State archaeologist and head of the institution Erich Claßen suggested that the owner may have been trying to safeguard the money, as banks did not exist at the time. It is not known for certain why the coins were never retrieved.

Rachel Otte, a research associate at the office, noted that it is difficult to determine the hoard’s value at the time. As a reference point, she cited the pay of a Roman legionary: an ordinary soldier received 300 denarii a year, but about half of the sum was deducted for food and equipment. According to her, to accumulate such a number of coins, a legionary would have had to save all of his available income for about six years.