JCB Driver wins share of treasure trove of 3,339 Roman coins worth £87,000 found in Yeovil

A JCB driver leveling a recreation ground for a hockey pitch unearthed a hoard of .

The coins, mainly of silver, include depictions of an elephant and a hippopotamus, animals which must have seemed exotic monsters to the Romano Britons through whose hands they passed.

The hoard is thought to have been buried around 270AD, during a time of inflation. It may have been deposited close to its owner's dwelling for its discovery triggered an archaeological investigation that revealed a small Roman settlement.

Expert says they could be worth £175,00 - meaning Mark would get around £87,000.

Mark's hoard of over 3,000 contains a mixture of coins worth up to £100 each.

Coin expert Chris Martin of CJ Martin (Coins) Limited (London), certified dealer under the British Numismatic Trade Association, said: ''Early to mid third century denarii are worth between £10-£100, radiates in silver are £10 - £50 and the sestertii described can be anything between £20 - £100.

"These are very rough prices based on low to good conditions and do not take in account any rarities."

The hoard was buried on the edge of the settlement, which had lain unknown under Yeovil Recreation Ground in Somerset. England cricket legend Ian Botham received some of his earliest cricket lessons from his father on the recreation ground.

A Treasure Inquest at Taunton yesterday heard how the bulldozer driver Mark Copsey, unearthed the hoard.

In written evidence he said: "I was stripping subsoil to the rock and was on an eight by ten metres strip to clear the second-to-final strip when I looked behind me and noticed a green colour in the soil. I stopped my machine and got out and investigated and discovered a broken pot with some sort of coins."

Mr Copsey, 44, from Clare, Suffolk, put some of the coins in a carrier bag and then telephoned local museums to find out to whom he should report the discovery.

Steve Minnitt, head of museums at South West Heritage Trust was informed and Steve Membury, the trust's senior historic environment officer, immediately went to the site, ensuring that the integrity of the find area was preserved.

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The hoard was sent to the British Museum of analysis. Experts established that the coins were from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD, with 164 being dinarii, four brass sestertii, and the rest radiates. The museum's laboratory found that some coins had been stacked and carefully bound in textile, and string, some of which remained.

Some of the coins carried the heads of empresses, and others emperors, including Philip I, born in Syria of a Syrian father, around 204AD.

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Lorry driver Colin Parnell had also been on the site, some yards away and saw Mr Copsey stop his vehicle and examine the ground. He heard Mr Copsey say he thought he had found some coins. Mr Parnell argued in a letter to the Coroner that the discovery therefore was a team find.

Somerset Coroner Tony Williams ruled that Mr Copsey alone was the finder, and declared the find to be treasure under the Treasure Act.

The hoard is currently still at the British Museum. Mr Minnitt said South West Heritage Trust would like to acquire it to display at the Museum of Somerset at Taunton and would also give the people of Yeovil an opportunity to see it in the town if it is acquired.

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First it must be valued by an independent treasure valuation committee. The recommendations will be given to Mr Copsey, the landowner, South Somerset District Council, and the Heritage Trust, who can contest the valuation. Once the cost is agreed Mr Minnitt will have three months to find the money to buy it.

The finder and landowner are entitled to an equal share of the market value. Mr Minnitt said: "Mr Copsey acted absolutely correctly, reporting the discovery immediately enabling a proper archaeological investigation which means we have much more information about the find. We're very pleased."

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Mr Copsey travelled from Suffolk to attend the inquest. Afterwards he said finding the coins was "brilliant." He added; "When I found the hoard I did everything I could to act correctly and do everything above board. When I'm driving it's a health and safety rule to look behind me as well, that's how I spotted them. The 'dozer took the top off the pot before I knew it was there, I'm afraid it'll do that every time. I'm still working on archaeological digs with the 'dozers so hopefully I might find some more."


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