One of the largest deposits of Roman coins ever recorded in Wales, has been declared treasure trove.

Nearly 6,000 copper alloy coins were found buried in two pots in a field at Sully, Vale of Glamorgan by a local metal detector enthusiast in April.

After the ruling by the Cardiff coroner, a reward is likely to be paid to the finder and landowner.

It is hoped the coins will be donated to National Museum Wales, which has called the find “exceptional”.

Two separate hoards were found by the metal detectorist on successive days, one involving 2,366 coins and the other 3,547 coins, 3m away.

The 1,700-year-old coins dated from the reigns of numerous emperors, notably Constantine I (the Great, AD 307-37), during whose time Christianity was first recognised as a state religion.

Edward Besly, the museum’s coin specialist called it an “exceptional find”.

He said: “The coins provide further evidence for local wealth at the time. They also reflect the complex imperial politics of the early fourth century.”

‘Time of danger’

It is thought the two hoards were buried by the same person, possibly two years apart. A similar find was uncovered in the area in 1899.

“There was quite a bit of Roman activity in the area at the time, southwards from Cardiff Castle, where there was a Roman fort, to the Knap at Barry where there was an administrative building and there were farms in the Sully area,” said Mr Besly. (more…)

Fewer than 7,200 collector-grade coins available for purchase

Sailing in haste with hopes to escape an impending attack by the British and Dutch armies, the São José ultimately met her demise in 1622. For nearly 400 years the treasures onboard from the Portuguese Empire were lost along with the carrack. For the first time ever after their spectacular 2005 recovery by Arqueonautas Worldwide, which holds the title to the São José, these legendary coins are now available for private ownership. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. has secured exclusive rights to broker the coins from the São José shipwreck. Fewer than 7,200 collector-grade coins have been recovered.

Under the command of Francisco da Gama, the great grandson of the legendary explorer Vasco da Gama, the São José was the flagship of a fleet on a mission for Phillip III, King of Spain and Portugal, carrying an impressive cargo of silver coins. Francisco was also on his way to reign as the Viceroy of India. However, the São José never reached her destination when after the British and Dutch attacks she perished off the coast of Mozambique.

The São José carried an impressive cargo, the legendary silver treasure of Philip III, King of Portugal, that had been handed over to Francisco da Gama on his way to India. The shipment included nine chests filled with thousands of silver reales coins produced in both the Old and New World mints.

“This historic find offers a very rare opportunity for coin collectors. The São José collection is composed of a unique assortment of Old World and New World mints, laden with rich history, and there are only very few coins available for sale considering the size of the world-wide coin collecting community” said John Longley, Odyssey’s Director of Business Development.

“The Portuguese 1622 São José is an outstanding discovery for two reasons - for her cultural and historical significance accompanying the Vice Roy of India to Goa, and for her commercial value carrying the “Kings money” which we were able to recover from the shipwreck. These coins provide scientific proof of the importance of the Spanish Real as the only true global currency of its time. Some of the coins on board were found to have changed ownership three times in a period of only 12 months moving half around the globe,” commented Niki Graf Sandizell, CEO of Arqueonautas.

According to historic coin expert and author Carol Tedesco, a treasure of this nature does not come along very often. “Not only does the assortment include some truly rare varieties, the treasure features an amazing scope of world-wide commerce in the 16th and 17th century,”
Tedesco commented. (more…)

Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC ( www.SedwickCoins.com ) announces the release of their new mail-bid Treasure Auction #4 by catalog and internet.

The auction closes November 6. Highlights of this sale include:

• A California Gold Rush-era gold ingot from the S.S. Central America (1857) estimated at $125,000+ and also a gold bar marked with the “En Rada” stamp (Peña-Randa) from the Atocha (1622) estimated at $40,000+
• The “Golden Fleece wreck” (ca. 1550) Special Research Collection of Mexican Charles-Joanna rarities (including the famous 3 reales of 1536 estimated at $10,000+ and many of the finest specimens of the first issues struck in the New World)
• Gold “finger” bars and silver “splash” ingots from the same wreck; a 1626 specimen of a Spanish 50 reales “cincuentín” (at 170 grams, the largest Spanish coin ever minted, most examples of which are only seen in museums) estimated at $15,000+
• Coins and artifacts from the newly discovered “Wild Horse River Wreck” (ca. 1620) in the River Plate off Uruguay; and Part I of the Treasure Library of Tom Sebring (author of Treasure Tales—Shipwrecks and Salvage).

“This is by far our largest and most important auction to date,” says Dan Sedwick, a coin expert with over 20 years’ experience and a pioneer in the field of authentic “treasure” collectibles. “We anticipate that the results will exceed the total low estimate of about $1 million.”

Sedwick’s assistant Agustín “Augi” García adds “the current economy is poised for investors to put their money into collectibles and hard assets, and buying treasure coins and bullion and artifacts is a fun way to do just that. We feel the timing of our auction could not be better.” (more…)

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. announced that the Republic of Peru filed a motion in federal court in one of the company’s pending admiralty cases. As anticipated after numerous statements in the media, Peru formally filed a Verified Conditional Claim in the “Black Swan” admiralty case, which was originally filed by Odyssey Marine Exploration. The case is currently pending before the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida.

“Odyssey’s position is to encourage every appropriate claimant to present its potential claims in a case like this, so we welcome Peru’s filing, even as the Company reserves its legal position. If the court does not find that the property was abandoned, we believe that the property in the “Black Swan” case would be handled under the traditional law of salvage,” said Greg Stemm, Odyssey Chief Executive Officer.

The nature of a salvage award is that the award to the salvor is not dependent upon the number of claimants. Claimants other than the salvor must either enter into an agreement amongst themselves to split the owner’s percentage of a find or submit their individual claims to the court for adjudication. For instance, in the case of the Central America, an award of 92% of the cargo was made to the salvor, and the remaining 8% was held in trust while various insurance companies were given the opportunity to present their respective claims.

“We believe that Peru’s filing raises a significant and timely question relating to whether a former colonial power or the colonized indigenous peoples should receive the cultural and financial benefit of underwater cultural heritage derived from the previously colonized nations. Odyssey would be pleased to involve Peru in the study and archaeological investigation of any property that is found to have originated in Peru, without regard for whether Peru has any legal rights to the property. We would also be pleased to extend the same courtesy to any other sovereign government, indigenous people, relatives or descendants who might have a legitimate claim or interest in property discovered on any of Odyssey’s shipwrecks,” Mr. Stemm added.