(PCM) An amateur British treasure hunter made a tremendous find while out exploring land near Seaton in East Devon. 51-year old Laurence Egerton discovered nearly 22,000 Roman coins dating back from the years AD260 to AD348.
His discovery marked the largest collection of Roman coins discovered in British history. In order to make sure that his discovered treasure remained safe, Egerton even went as far as to sleep in his car next to the excavation site guarding it while archaeologists completed their work.
The collection of coins which was discovered in a field pretty much in the middle of nowhere was close to an area where archaeologists had recently excavated a Roman villa. The entire collection was placed on display at the British Museum. Experts claim that the coins were most likely buried for safekeeping.
The coins have officially been declared a treasure and Egerton who received a permit to search the land will have a 50/50 split of the proceeds with the landowner. The coins may not have been worth very much in their day, but now they are worth tens of thousands of dollars.
