Silver Roman coin deemed as treasure after hoard uncovered in field outside Great Ellingham, near Attleborough

A silver Roman coin has been deemed as treasure after a denarius hoard was discovered by a metal detectorist.

The uncovering of 25 coins was made in a field near Great Ellingham, north of Attleborough, in December.

The group of silver denarii was found spread over an area about 160m by 65m and likely were part of a hoard scattered by agricultural activity.

As they were a hoard of two or more coins of more than 300 years old lost or deposited together, they represented a case of treasure under the Treasure Act of 1997.

Following an inquest at Norfolk Coroner’s Court on July 15, only ‘coin 13’ was deemed as treasure out of the hoard of 25, with the other coins disclaimed.

Coin 13 weighs 2.88g and is believed to date from AD120-1.

Dr Adrian Marsden, from the Norfolk Historic Environment Service, said coin 13 was deemed as treasure because a museum wanted it.

The 52-year-old said: “We get hoards like this every so often but they’re not that special in the grand scheme of things, although they of course still are worthy of interest.

“Museums have the right to cherry pick from a hoard and put it on display. They won’t want the whole 25 coins due to money and space.

“The fact that just the one was cherry picked is quite odd, but it can happen.”

The silver coin hoard that was discovered was almost worth the same as a legionary’s monthly wage in the second century.

Legionaries were the Roman Empire’s citizen soldiers who had to meet strict physical and social requirements.

They had to be at least 5ft 7in tall, needed a letter of recommendation and faced gruelling training. They also had to take an oath to serve in the army for at least 25 years.

After they retired, they received a pension worth a decade’s pay.

Dr Marsden said a silver denarius is reasonably valuable and was about one day’s pay for a legionary.

“With the Great Ellingham hoard we’re looking at close to a month’s wages. They were well paid,” he said.

“It may not have been life-changing money, but it was certainly a decent sum of cash to have.”

The discovery of the coins in Great Ellingham comes after a separate hoard of 13 denarii was also found last year near Walpole Highway, north of Wisbech.

Coins in both hoards range from the AD60s to AD180s, including for emperors such as Marcus Aurelius, Trajan and his cousin Hadrian, who is displayed on coin 13.