An amateur Swiss archaeologist discovered a trove of 1,290 Roman coins that date back to the reign of Constantine the Great.

Using a metal detector, Daniel Lüdin found the coins inside a clay pot that was buried underground. Last year in September, he found the pot in a forest near Wildenstein Castle in Bubendorf, Switzerland.

Archäologie Baselland later extracted the find in its entirety. Using computer tomography at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, experts scanned the 9-inch-tall pot without disturbing the coins, which made it possible to see leather remnants wedged between them.

What purpose the leather served remains a mystery, though it is known that the coins are primarily composed of copper alloy and traces of silver, and are the equivalent of a small bowl of change. Weighing far less than an ounce, they add up to roughly two months' salary for a soldier at that time.

The coins, which date from 332-355 C.E., were minted during a period of peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire under Constantine the Great, who governed from 306-377 C.E. Few coins from that period have ever been discovered.

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A Trove of Ancient Roman Coins Was Uncovered by an Amateur Archaeologist in Switzerland(https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/roman-coins-constantine-the-great-uncovered-by-amateur-1234627938/)