A remarkable discovery was made by a member of the Livorno Paleontological Archaeological Group while hiking in a cleared area of a Tuscan forest northeast of Livorno. In November 2021, the hiker spotted glimmering coins in the dirt which turned out to be 175 silver Roman denarii coins. The majority of the coins were in good condition, making this one of the few hoards of ancient coins found intact.
The discovery of the treasure has raised a number of questions for archaeologists, such as who the coins belonged to, who they were hidden from, and why they were never retrieved. The archaeological group, along with Dr. Lorella Alderighi, the archaeologist official for the provinces of Pisa and Livorno, has spent over a year measuring, weighing and documenting the coins. They now believe they have some answers to the mystery.
According to Dr. Alderighi, the coins were most likely the treasure of a former soldier who fought during Rome's Social War from 91 to 88 BC and during the civil war between Sulla and the Marians from 83 to 82 BC. The owner of the hoard buried it in a terra-cotta pot, which served as a sort of piggy bank. The earliest coins in the stash dated to 157 or 156 BC, and the latest up to 83 or 82 BC.
Dr. Alderighi explained that during that time, 175 denarii would have been a soldier's salary for about a year and a half. The coins were well-preserved in their buried state, with only two being fractured but still able to be reassembled. The archaeological group's release noted that studying the coins could provide scholars with more background on the history of coins and how they were used. It could even lead to changes to the fundamental typology created in 1974 and still used today to identify and date Roman coins.
Overall, the discovery of this ancient hoard is significant for its numismatic, historical, and social information. The treasure will soon be on display in an exhibition at the Museum of Natural History of the Mediterranean in Livorno from May 5 to July 2, giving the public a chance to see these remarkable coins up close.