Amateur discovers Germany's largest Roman silver coin hoard near Cologne

While searching a field south of Cologne, amateur archaeologist Oliver Riedl heard his metal detector continue to beep after finding several coins. He alerted officials, and a team from the LVR Office for the Preservation of Archaeological Monuments began a systematic dig, uncovering a total of 934 Roman silver denarii weighing 3.1 kilograms. The cache, the largest Roman coin treasure ever recorded in Germany, dates to the reign of Emperor Hadrian and is now on exhibit at the LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn.

State archaeologist Erich Classen noted the burial was likely intentional, perhaps to protect wealth in an era without banks, and that the owner may have died before retrieving it. Research associate Rahel Otte compared the hoard’s value to a legionary’s salary, estimating it would take about six years of disposable income to amass. The find adds a rare glimpse into Roman economic life in the Cologne region, which was under Roman control from 39 BC to AD 459.