Amateur archaeologist's metal detector leads him to Germany's biggest Roman coin hoard of 1,900 years

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026 · last updated 23 September 2026.

Oliver Riedl's metal detector kept signalling in a field near Wesseling, south of Cologne, and when he called in professionals, archaeologists unearthed 934 Roman silver denarii weighing 3.1kg — the largest Hadrian-era coin hoard ever found in Germany. Experts determined the treasure had been deliberately hidden during the second quarter of the second century AD, and it went on public display at the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn on Tuesday. Riedl had made the find a year before but reported it to archaeologists straight away, triggering a professional dig that confirmed the record-breaking nature of the discovery.

The hoard's oldest coin dates to 148 BC, a time when Rome had not yet become an empire, while most of the coins belong to the Flavian emperors (AD 69–96).

State archaeologist Erich Classen says the owner likely buried the silver for safekeeping and 'perhaps died before that could happen, without being able to pass on the knowledge.'

Second-century hoards of this size are exceptionally uncommon in Germany, making an exact valuation of 934 denarii impossible — though Roman legionary pay records offer the closest comparison.