The Corbridge Hoard — a discovery like this is the cherished dream of every treasure hunter: a stash of gold coins, each of which would be worth at least $5,000 today!
This remarkable treasure of 160 ancient Roman gold coins — aurei — was discovered in 1911 at Corbridge, Northumberland, hidden beneath what had once been the floor of a 2nd-century AD house in northern England. The owner had carefully stacked them inside this bronze vessel, securely sealing its neck with two bronze coins (a dupondius and an as).
When archaeologists lifted the jar from the ground, the weight of the gold — each coin weighs about 7 grams, meaning the hoard contained more than 1 kilogram of gold — caused its heavily corroded base to break away, and the coins spilled out. The hoard is dated to approximately AD 160.
Now on display at the British Museum, London, England.