Trier gold coin treasure

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Presentation of the Trier gold coin treasure in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum

The Trier gold coin treasure was discovered in 1993 during construction work near the Feldstrasse in Trier . It comprises 2,650 aurei with a total weight of around 18.5 kilograms, making it the largest hoard of gold coins from the Roman Empire . More than 99 percent of the coins were minted between the years 63 and 168 AD, this corresponds to around a tenth of all known aurei from this period. Today the treasure is one of the outstanding exhibits in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier .

Find history

In 1993, construction of a new parking deck began on the property of a hospital on Trier's Feldstrasse. Parallel to the excavation work, archaeologists from the State Museum examined the site and uncovered the remains of walls and cellar vaults of a Roman insula .

On the afternoon of September 9, 1993, however, it was hobby coin collectors who first discovered individual gold coins in the excavated earth of an excavator on the construction site. In the hope of further finds, one of the collectors returned to the excavation pit with a metal detector in the evening and after a short time came across a "pile of gold" with 1389 aurei, some of which had caked together due to corrosion and clay. Finally he discovered the lower part of a bronze vessel in an L-shaped basement room of the insula , in which there were another 561 gold coins. The vessel, which had apparently been torn apart by the excavator that afternoon, was the original location of the hoard.

The bronze cauldron torn apart shortly after the find with the aurei remaining in the lower part

The finder transported the coins in a bucket and a plastic bag to his car and initially drove them home, but delivered the treasure to the Rheinisches Landesmuseum the next morning.

Another place of discovery was at the Trier Hotel Kockelsberg, where the excavated earth from the Feldstrasse was to be used as filling material for the preparation of a parking lot. After discovering the first coins on Feldstrasse, some hobby collectors followed a truck that transported the overburden to the Kockelsberg. There the rumor of a treasure find quickly spread and on the afternoon of September 9th, construction workers, truck drivers and hotel guests took part in the search, which yielded more than 400 aurei. The upper part of the bronze vessel was also found at the Hotel Kockelsberg.

Ultimately, 19 people gave 2518 Roman gold coins to research, whereby "certain rare coins were withheld from the museum". The original total stock is estimated at 2,650 aurei.

Historical background

Whether the Trier gold treasure was private property or state money cannot be determined with certainty. The enormous sum - 2650 aurei correspond to 265,000 sesterces , while for example the annual income of the financial procurator of the provinces Gallia Belgica , Germania superior and Germania inferior residing in Trier was 200,000 sesterces - as well as the type of storage, however, indicate more of a state or military deposit from which sums were repeatedly taken and added. There is also speculation about a connection with the Trier Asclepius Temple , which was located in the immediate vicinity of the site.

The youngest coins of the Trier hoard were minted between 193 and 196 AD. These dates suggest a connection with the civil war between Emperor Septimius Severus and his rival Clodius Albinus . Trier was besieged in 196 by the troops of Clodius Albinus, but not conquered. It can be assumed that the owner or administrator of the hoard was a partisan of Clodius and, after his defeat, had to flee the city hastily or was arrested and fell victim to the cleansing measures of Septimius Severus. In any case, he apparently didn't have the opportunity to get the coins out of their hiding place under the basement floor of the insula on today's Feldstrasse.

storage

The aurei of the Trier treasure were originally located in a bulbous bronze cauldron, around 25 centimeters high, which was torn into two parts by an excavator shovel during the excavation work for the parking deck. The vessel could be closed by a slip-on lid with a handle that was also found separately. The coins were not placed individually in the bronze cauldron, but were packed in at least two leather bags, of which there were still remains. The arrangement of the coins at the time of their discovery also suggests that they were deposited in rolls .

Coin series with the emperors and members of the imperial family represented in the treasure

composition

More than 96 percent of the coins in the Trier gold treasure were minted in Rome , the rest in Lyon . With an average of 99.05 percent, they have a very high fineness. The treasure also contains around 80 previously unknown coin types and variants.

A total of 29 different emperors, empresses or relatives of the imperial family are depicted, with Nero (866 coins) and Vespasian (819 coins) being by far the most common. This composition of the treasure corresponds to other hoard finds and is related to various coin reforms. In AD 64, a lighter monetary standard was introduced under Nero . The old, heavier aurei were gradually withdrawn from circulation and had to be replaced by an increased output of the lighter aurei. This explains why the coins minted under Nero and Vespasian determined the circulation of coins until the second century. The turning point in the Trier coin series in the years 82 to 99 AD is also characteristic, as heavier coins were temporarily minted again under the reigning emperors Domitian and Nerva . Trajan returned to the lighter coin system and, in turn, had the Domitian coins drawn in and melted down. Since the proportion of heavy aurei in the Trier treasure find is very low, one can conclude that the hoard was accumulated from the middle of the second century, when there were hardly any coins of Domitian or even from the time before the Neronian reform in circulation.

After AD 167/8, the Trier coin series breaks off abruptly. The reason for this is suspected to be the Antonine plague . In Trier, too, the pandemic apparently spread "so much fear and fear in the population that the owner or administrator of the treasure hurriedly buried the bronze cauldron after 167/168." He may even have fled the city and fetched the cash years later his return from hiding. After this turning point, only six more coins from 193 to 196 were added.

Theft attempt 2019

In the early morning hours of October 8, 2019 , two strangers broke into the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier and tried to smash the armored glass of the showcase with the gold coin treasure in order to steal it . The attempt failed and the perpetrators managed to escape from the arriving police. Due to new security measures, the Trier gold coin treasure will not be visible to the public again until 2020.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. Pp. 8, 45, 73.
  2. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. P. 10 ff.
  3. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. P. 14.
  4. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. P. 26.
  5. ↑ Gabriele and Lukas Clemens, History of the City of Trier , Munich 2007, p. 31 and Gilles: Goldmünzenschatz. P. 75.
  6. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. P. 18 ff.
  7. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. Pp. 23, 36.
  8. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. P. 23 ff.
  9. ↑ Gilles: Gold Coin Treasure. P. 74.
  10. ↑ Unsuccessful break-in: Museum robbers want to steal Trier's famous gold treasure - and fail spectacularly . In: Focus Online , October 16, 2019, accessed October 17, 2019.
  11. ↑ After burglary and attempted theft: Trier gold treasure will not be seen again until 2020 . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung.de / dpa , October 16, 2019, accessed on October 17, 2019.