The 6 Most Valuable Roman Treasures Ever Discovered
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- Опубликовано: 3 авг 2024
- A massive trove of silver in a monastery garden. Coins and heirlooms buried by Vesuvius. A hoard of gold coins weighing two thirds of a ton. This video tells the stories of six of the greatest Roman treasures and coin hoards ever discovered, and explains their relative value.
For more on ancient treasures, check out my book “Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans."
www.amazon.com/Naked-Statues-...
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:41 Hoxne Hoard
2:42 Trier Treasure of 1628
4:04 Boscoreale Treasure
6:03 Trier Gold Hoard
7:36 Reka Devnia Hoard
9:04 Brescello Hoard
Thanks for watching!
Hearing of antiquities being melted down for metal value just makes one want to weep...
I hear you.
Imagine the Romans did the same thing to mint their gold coins. We having it as easy as we do today with modern industrialization is the only thing that allows us to be sentimental of the past.
To be fair, we don't really need x thousand same gold coins for any sort of historic research or anything of that sort.
@@Sp4mMe You’re making an assumption that the historical & archeological methods available today will be the same as are available in the future.
@@Sp4mMe they could have at least kept like 5-10 pieces for exhibits to be spread around the world
Step 1: Buy shovel
Step 2: *PROFIT*
Step 3: Hire late antique infantry...
I hear they take crypto-solidi now
That’s why they called it Solidity
This is too good
Just imagine all the hoards discovered across history that were just quietly melted into their original metals, without anyone ver knowing about them.
I'm sure there have been finds that dwarfed even the Brescello Hoard.
I am imagining all the hoards that are undiscovered yet....
ones found in the UK are fairly likely to be pieced off or melted due to how treasure trove laws screw finders out of money. when things valued on the open market at 100's of thousands get 'appraised' at 500 quid and then forced purchased you know lots of people are avoiding that risk.
What about the ones destroyed in mass or small constructions :;///
@@Blackadder75 The sahara desert..
I think the most startling discovery of recent times was the unearthing of Richard the Third in a parking lot in England.
"And upon my glorious Death I say to my Lords and my Ladies: Bury me next to a tesco! Just any shall do." - Richard the 3rd, probably
The usurper that was usurped
That was truly startling, an amazing discovery.
It's not fair. Those royals will do anything to get the best parking spots.
Fantastic story
My heart always hurts hearing about the destruction or theft of ancient relics
A very wonderful video sir
Very glad you enjoyed it - but yes, it is painful to think of how much has been needlessly lost.
You mean like the British museums countless thefts of artifacts from their rightful homes?
Imagine being a soldier in that army, "No pay this year, the general forgot where he buried our money again."
He probably gave them a bag of salt.
or even more morbid that the entire army got wiped out so no one was left to pay or be paid.
@@bookmouse2719 Roman Soldiers where never paid in salt, that's a big misconception.
@@UmVtCg Yes, but it is no joke that salt was worth a lot back then, though.
These videos are gold. Please keep them coming.
Thank you! As it happens, I have another video coming out soon, so stay tuned...
Pun intended?
The LAST thing I would do after finding buried treasure is call the cops.
If you want to end up in prison...
yeah that’s exactly what I thought.
@@comsubpac I bet 2/3 of found buried treasures end up molten and illegally sold. If one finds one, there is no rush, one can take a year to learn the trade of metal melting from scratch and build a furnace, find the safest forms to recast them into goods from non-developed countries. I guess that selling would have to be in the black market at a fraction of its value. I bet that's what happens in Asian countries as there are never any asian treasure officially found.
@@comsubpac : I guess it takes all kinds of idiots to make the world go round!!!
Almost all states pay the finder, more than the mere metal value at least, so it's certainly better choice than melting it down. And trying to sell the ancient treasure as ancient treasure on black market is not simple, easy to get caught by authorities or robbed by the criminals you are trying to sell to. And any hoard is more valuable intact than divided into pieces like you would have to do if you planned on liquidating it on black market. Going through the proper channels is not a bad choice at all.
...more importantly, did the farmer ever find his hammer?
He did! Eric Lawes went back into the field and found the hammer a short distance from the spot where he'd discovered the treasure.
@@toldinstone wow what a story just wooooooooowww
No, but it will show up on the antiquities market in 2572
@@toldinstone Did he get compensated for finding that treasure?
@@billbauer9795 yes they get each got a half share of what the museum valued it at. I saw it on display at the British Museum
The lost hammer being displayed alongside the treasure is good practice and fucking hysterical.
It's a nice touch, isn't it?
omg the plate with Africa...what a MASTERPIECE!
I had to pause and look at it. Absolutely astonishing.
My favourite piece from the video. Fascinating stuff.
They were so much smarter than us comparatively
@@renaissance17 no they weren't they were mostly illiterate
@@davidcohen3661 If they accomplished all those things being illiterate that means that they were smarter.
Thank you for explaining this in modern and ancient money equivalent for those of us who enjoy learning about history and especially ancient history. I find it fascinating and have loved learning my whole life. I am in my 70's now and I still love this stuff..
You're very welcome
Hearing about the coins being melted down somehow managed to physically harm my soul.
Barbarians come from all ages, and in all shapes and sizes.
There are millions of Roman coins in UK museums alone....and millions more in Europe, the Middle East & Africa. There is nothing more to be learned from any more of the same.
@@PBFoote-mo2zr your guitar has sentimental value to you. a dollar bill derives value from its agreed upon purpose - a unit of currency. what use does an old roman coin provide to anyone?
@@arcade5765 history, heritage, consciousness, symbiosis
@@PBFoote-mo2zr The dollar bill is literally useless and is actually counter intuivive to own any when you can hold all your assets in doge.
Maybe something like Roman Currency 101 could be interesting?
Just explaining the different coin types, how they looked during different time periods, their significance of their name, their metal composition, so on.
Its pretty amazing how many Roman treasures were and are found in and around Trier. I live nearby and in a lot of villages roman legacy such as foundations, vases, coins are regularly found. There is even the Villa Borg, a villa rustica recontructed on the original foundations which is a huge museum complex.
I love your channel, hard to find actually good antiquarian content here
Thank you!
Time time my dude, check it out. It's a lot of fun.
I just found this channel and I am glad I did
Very glad to hear it!
Same
This vid appeared on my recommendations; now I need to check out his other vids
Considering how big the roman army was, the empire must have required large amount of gold. Wonder how were they able to procure that? By the way, great video.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
The Empire did indeed require an enormous amount of gold to pay its troops (whose upkeep consumed the bulk of the imperial budget). The Romans obtained this gold the old-fashioned ways: by mining it (principally in Spain, and later in Dacia), by seizing it from enemies, and - of course - by taxing their subjects.
Tribute from conquered countries.
75 percent of the privy purse was obtained by financing the export trade with India and than taxing the import. The rest was obtained through land taxes, wealth taxes and income taxes (1 percent).
@@toldinstone Mine, Seize, and Tax: Finances of Ancient Rome would make a solid title methinks.
Also, I gotta get to that mining, seizing, and taxing. I'm not sure if I am supposed to hire the infantry before or after mining though.
@@toldinstone it makes me curious about the mining operations they had going on
Found you in my recommended. Very, very glad of it. Keep it up man! It’s great to hear from someone with a phd instead of the usual individual whose credentials I can’t trust at all.
Glad to hear it!
Don't speak too soon !
I'm sure " Professor ' (!) Graeme Hancock will be along with an
alternative theory very shortly.?
Thank you for sharing, ready for more!
Glad to hear it!
I'm so glad that RUclips recently recommended your channel!
So am I!
Me too!
I am addicted to your channel some solace for being unable to visit the sites. Its a pity your book isnt available except on import in the UK, but thank you Dr Ryan.
I'm very glad that you're enjoying my channel - and sorry that the book isn't being released simultaneously in the UK. I believe, however, that it can be ordered more or less painlessly through the Waterstones and Foyles sites.
Thanks for your interest!
You're the man! Thanks for these very interesting videos.
Nice video- imagine finding one of these treasures in a field!!! Imagine what has been missed & still out there
Do the people ever get monetary compensation or do the museums always get to steal the gold?
It's not a straightforward question, each country is different. However, the consensus I've seen is no. If you find something on your property, you're SOL. All you get for your trouble is headache and a bunch of people tearing up your yard. Then you have to pay to get it fixed. So, in the long run, your just out more money. Reason why most people don't report it.
Monday 10 May 2021: I watched all of this video presentation. Thank you for it. Incredible narration of incredible history. You really educate folks.
I'm very glad you enjoyed it
Your passion is palpable 🙏
Sono un romano di 76anni quando ero bambino con i miei amici andavamo sotto il ponte s,angelo e con il Tevere in secca cercavamo nella sabbia e trovavamo monete e altre cose che portavamo ad un negozietto afontana di Trevi che ci dava poche lire.. ci compravano i gelati ,a pensarci adesso ,che ingenuità .il negoziante ci a guadagnato😄😁
a great pleasure to look at them!!!!
👍👍👍Just discovered this channel and love it already!!
Glad to hear it!
Nice! Thanks for this!
You're very welcome!
Fun Video..!! 🤩
Ty sir. Keep them coming!!
I hope whoever found the Hoxne hoard got more than a plaque at the museum!
Discovered your channel today and I'm really enjoying the content keep up the great work 👌
Glad to hear it!
Your series has hooked me, bravo!
Glad to hear it!
Fascinating!
Enjoying the videos. One I would like to see is known "lost Greek masterpieces."
I've thought about doing a "lost sculptures of Constantinople" video. Stay tuned...
@@toldinstone that would be great!
@@toldinstone Ya that would be amazing
"Hi, im Doctor..."
"YOU ARE BEUTIFUL, THATS WHAT YOU ARE"
Thank you for your videos, as an Italian it feels heartwarming.
Love your videos!
Love your voice and humor my man.
Awesome as always!
Thank you!
Imagine you some poor old farmer in England and you and your mate discover enough ancient roman gold coins to retire 10 times over and the British government is just like "Cheers, we'll have that."
Very well put together videos ! Subscribed
Thank you, and welcome aboard!
The last find was so large, if it was to come to market in modern times it would devalue the price of Roman coinage. You would have to do what Debeer's does and act like there is no giant stockpile as you sell.
Yes - if all those aurei were released onto the market at once, Roman gold coins might finally become (almost) affordable for the normal collector
Love your channel. Your opening to this put me in mind of the old words: "Oil that is. Black gold. Texas tea..."
Glad to hear it! Perhaps I was subconsciously channeling the Beverly Hillbillies...
@@toldinstone LOL! Well, I did watch a marathon of them this past weekend so I had the show on my brain!
Thanks it’s very educational and interesting for me!!!🙋🏻♀️👍
Very glad to hear it!
Good stuff.
I would love to see a Roman travel guide to match many of the sites you have discussed in recent videos. Thanks!
Love these videos
Glad to hear it!
Wow! Very interesting 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Hello from Trier :D
Liked your Video!
Nice video. You should do one about the greatest treasures ever found in terms of their antiquity/artistic value in terms of modern dollars. Like, what the pieces are valued at. 🙂
That reminds of the time I lost a whole shitload of gold coins in a field. I borrowed a friends metal detector and went up and down, back and forth, and only found a really nice ball peen hammer.
This channel is amazing
Glad to hear it!
The most surprising aspect is the honesty of the finders contacting the authorities or museums instead of pocketing the treasure for themselves! Shamefully something I don’t think I could do! You are the antiquities counterpart of Dr Mark Felton!! Cheers from Salt Lake City!
I think I would have a hard time convincing myself that the authorities needed to know about the giant pile of gold coins I had just discovered...
Thank you, and cheers from Chicago!
It boggles the imagination what yet remains to be discovered.
It certainly does. Maybe there's another Brescello Hoard out there, just waiting...
Had to sub, hope he keep's it up
I'll try my best!
Every time I heard you say things were melted down, my jaw dropped. I didn't realize that's a thing that happens... :c
Today, the coins are worth more $$ than the precious metals. Centuries ago, they weren't.
cool video👍🏻
What amazing hoards await discovery yet!
Your channel seems great. My third video so far.
Delighted to hear it!
I know a few people who have found all kinds of Roman coins while building or re-building their house in Italy. I can't even imagine how many Kilograms of Roman golden coins have been found, melted and sold as 'scrap gold' over the centuries.
Even the Brescello Hoard was just a drop in the bucket.
@@toldinstone I found handfuls of koper and bronze Sederstines over the years . But never any golden ones....One time a mate of mine who lives in some tiny town in Portugal borrowed my metal detector and he found a golden roman coin within two days .
The Gods can be cruel and indifferent .Sigh ..😉
@@spiritualanarchist8162 As an American, I can hardly imagine the excitement of finding even a few sesterces with a detector. An aureus would probably give me a heart attack.
@@toldinstone Haha..Me to by now. I'm Dutch but I have Italian family living near the former Roman city of Aquilea, in the North-East of Italy. Great area to roam about the ancient ruins. That's where my fascination with the Roman empire started. Anyway you have a great channel , good luck !
@@spiritualanarchist8162 Thank you!
Just goes to show, that you just can’t take it with you.
And... I got "Minted" stuck back in my head.
A Horrible Histories song about Marcus Licinius Crassus.
Can we get an F in the chat for the Brescello Hoard 😔😣 I visibly cringed when he said melted down. So sad.
Bravo So happy I came upon your channel!! Brilliant and I love your poise. Where do you teach? Please mention it an upcoming posting. Excellent, as is also your tour of the Vatican Museums.
Very glad you enjoyed it! I used to teach at the University of Michigan, but I left academia a few years ago.
Having done Roman history at school, a long time ago now, I always wanted to find a Roman coin.
that was so interesting
I can’t believe the 80,000 was almost all of it melted down holy shit …..
An excellent video of some impressive hoards!
I am fascinated by ancient hoards.
Their untold stories.
Who was in charge of them, why and how were they hidden, and of course, why were they never recovered by the owner.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Every time I hold an ancient coin, I wonder where it's been.
@@toldinstone what is your favorite coin from the Roman world? The Caligula "Three Sisters" coin is fabulous.
@@user-jv9qz2bu1r It certainly is. To be honest, I don't collect avidly enough to have a true favorite. I've always liked Nero's coins, if only for their splendid portraits of a progressively puffier emperor.
@@toldinstone if they ever re-make those Mr. Cholesterol commercials for back in the day - Nero can jump off the coin and hector us thru the TV screen. If I were to collect those old coins I would want Julius Caesar (comet coin), Augustus, Germanicus, or Caligula.
@@user-jv9qz2bu1r That would be a fantastic commercial. And yes, the Julio-Claudian coins really are special (though I'm rather partial to Hadrian's issues as well).
You and Dr. Grande should battle on a coliseum.
Ummmm, you seemed to have forgotten the treasure Titus Pullo found from the Roman treasury...
(facepalm)
My mother in law is Bulgarian and her dad has a few Roman coins that hm and his brother found back in the 80s.
today I learned that maintaining an army is very expensive
Trier, Germany was an impressive city. The ruins among the vineyards are wonderful :)
imagine beeing that guy who calls the authorities instead of keeping it LOL
if I found a big chest of Roman coins on my property I'm keeping it. Im not going to donate that much money away to a museum.
The Mildenhall treasure found in England in 1942 must also be one of the most valuable treasure hordes discovered and also artistically very fine.Now in the British Museum though no coins with it but only very nice silver tableware.
It certainly was. In fact, in the first draft of this video, it was the first treasure discussed. But since the weight of the silver was somewhat less than that of the other examples, I had to exclude it. Artistically, of course, the Mildenhall Treasure is more or less priceless.
Time Team did a good feature on Mildenhall and said that, although it was a large mass of coins, the coins were of very small value. The demonstration looked like a big cauldron full of pence.
The only bit of Roman treasure I have is a silver denarius from the reign of Septimius Severus, purchased in an antique shop many years ago. (The notation on its sleeve was not very well researched: it claimed the reverse portrayed a "native warrior" of the provinces, when it was clearly marked as a figure of Hercules).
I would NEVER tell ANYBODY if I ever found something like these...NEVER!!!
Gold and/or silver always. Even or especially in today's economic turmoil. Keep stacking! ;)
The Hoxne Hoard was important in establishing treasure law in the UK. Your story isn't quite right: the farmer was a tenant, and he asked his friend with a metal detector to help find the hammer, and they discovered the hoard. The legal situation was a little murky. Given the farmer didn't own the land, who owned the treasure? Were they obliged to report it to anyone? Could they keep it? Fortunately the farmer and his friend did the right thing by notifying authorities, but the law was subsequently clarified in the Treasure Act 1996.
So did the farmer get any compensation for the find? Most people wouldn't report it out of either greed or necessity
@@behonestwithyourself3718 The metal detector finder received all of it. Who then split it with his farmer friend. The landlord also got some of the value.
I own a Boscoreale gold of Tiberius I got from Spink in London it’s got that lovely red tone.
Look into the Dacian gold that keeps getting discovered and looted by gold chasers in Romania the last 20-30 years , it's the gold the Dacians were burying when their kingdom was conquered by Trajan in 106 AD.
For certain there are other huge hoards buried everywhere over Europe that will never be discovered.
Billions of dollars of treasure, not to mention all the shipwrecks on the bottom of the oceans.
Toldinstone - Maybe Kamenica, Vinik hoard (discovered in 1936) should be included. The exact amount of coins is not precisely known, as a bigger part has been sold out by finders to museums and collectors throughout Europe without reporting the find. Some estimations say that incredible 10 tons of coins were found together with coin dies. Look it up...
Man i wish i found a few kg of gold just like that, the dumbest thing one can do is to report the finds to authorities
You Sir, is RUclipss bigest Treasure.
Note to self: look for treasure in foundations in Trier!
Third time's the charm!
Makes you wonder what other treasures were found and not reported; nighthawking is a serious problem - we lose not only the items, but their context, and so lose that window into the past.
Ya, losing something you never would have known about is tragic. LMFAO!
@@shelbyseelbach9568 - The tragedy is the gap it leaves in the timestream, the lost chance to understand former ways of life, work and belief.
@@franl155 The gap already existed, as buried, unknown artifacts provide absolutely zero useful information. Absolutely zero.
@@shelbyseelbach9568 - not while they're buried, no, they don't. But if they're excavated responsibly, logged, recorded and reported, they present evidence that wasn't there before, and so parts of the gap may be filled in.
@@franl155 eh
It brings to mind the HBO ROME when Pullo buried the Republic's treasury of gold. If something had happened to him, it would still be there, which hints at the reason some of these hoards were there, and there are others still.
Looking forward to your next video co-starring your dog.
To be honest, he's not a very cooperative co-host. He refuses to wear a laurel wreath, for one thing...
It is amazing, how big the Roman Empire was .
No. 1 just broke my heart
I doubt it...
@@Baskerville22 shutup
When the best banks where undisclosed holes, dug in the dark by the very people who were too old (and too rich) to survive the perils of those uncertain times.
There was something noble about it though, now you have scoundrels who steal value by printing currency, give it to banks so they can steal interest payments from lending without ever doing work. Floating currency and debt financing are huge holes of unethical, illegitimate practices and straight thievery. All sanctified by amendments to constitution of countries that were passed without consulting the people, by hack and crook a century ago.
When value is properly tied to physical goods like gold, there is accountability and responsibility for limited resource which helps curb the destruction of the environment and the plague of human overpopulation. As it is right now all these notions were thrown out of the window and "unending growth and expansion" structured on a pyramidal hierarchy of corrupt profiteers on a planet with limited resources is the plan of date, surely destined to crash.
I got a metal detector last week I was 60 feet down before I realised I had steel toe cap boots on.
I am so torn I like your videos but it hurts so much when half of what you end up discussing was either torn down, destroyed or melted by renaissance and post-renaissance peoples.
As it happens, you're in luck! My next video will discuss a Roman building that is still in almost perfect condition.
Yes. It is depressing how many treasures were lost because people were looking at the gold value rather than the artistic value. (The treasuries of the churches and monasteries plundered by Henry VIII and the golden artifacts of the Aztecs and Incas come to mind.)
Yes! I feel these pangs of pain too! So I will look forward to your new video about the intact Roman building! This video was also wonderful! Very interesting!
@@lidia5247 Glad to hear it!
I guess that happened in the middle ages as well but we have just no way of knowing about it.
30,000 soldier salaries in todays money would be over a billion dollars. That's absolutely insane. It really shows how much less gold is worth now compared to back then.
Well, not really, modern standards of living are just way higher than late imperial soldiers
Hello.. congratulations for your big chanel .. greetings from the Albanian hunter. 👏😊👍🌹🇦🇱🤝🤝
Thank you!
Now if they could just find the lost volumes of Livy...