Roman silver coins unearthed near Pewsey sell for £81,000

A hoard of late Roman silver coins discovered on a camping weekend in Wiltshire went under the hammer at Noonans in Mayfair on Tuesday.

Three metal detectorists discovered the hoard of coins in September 2020.

Mick Rae, a 63-year-old herds manager, Robert Abbott, 53, who owns a computer shop and Dave Allen, 59, a carpenter, were staying in a field near Pewsey when they found the treasure trove just six paces from their tent.

Over the course of the weekend they found 161 coins in total, comprising silver siliqua and miliarense dating from AD 340-402.

They had to keep them in their camping washing-up bowl as they didn’t have anything else to store them in.

The three friends kept some of the coins and donated some to the British Museum.

The remaining 142 coins were expected to sell for up to £40,000.

However, collectors were clearly keen on the mint condition coins and the hoard sold for a massive £81,160.

Mr Abbot said it was the first auction he had been to and he was 'gobsmacked' after watching the prices go up and up.