What actually took place was the dream of every coin collector and anyone that has the hobby of metal detecting, as Dave Crisp does. Dave is the man that was using a metal detector in a field in the southwestern part of England, near Frome, Somerset.

At first, only 21 coins were found, but this was just the start of the discovery. Upon digging down some more, Dave found a pot full of old Roman coins. Knowing the historical significance of the find, he contacted the archaeologist from the Somerset County Council.

With professional help, a food storage pot was unearthed that contained nearly 350 pounds of ancient Roman coins. To date, this is the single, largest find in a pot, and the second largest find in the UK of all time.

All of the coins date from 253 AD to 293 AD and were minted in England by the Roman Empire during the reign of Marcuse Aurelilius Carausius, who ruled England from 286 Ad to 293 Ad.

The coins were made of silver and bronze. This is more evidence why coin collecting should include coins made of more than just gold.

The reason the coins were buried is unknown. There is speculation it was a gift to the Roman gods or for safe keeping against being stolen during an invasion. For whatever reason, they remained buried until 2010. They laid buried there for 1,717 years undiscovered.

Collecting Roman coins from this hoard might be permitted. But a decision on whether this find is subject to the Treasury Act of 1996 is being held on July 22, 2010. After that, they might be for sale.

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2009 Gold Proof Sovereign

The 2009 Gold Proof Sovereign is 7.99 grams of 22 carat gold.  As a collector coin, the 2009 gold proof sovereigns are perfect.  The Royal Mint is limiting production of the 2009 gold proof sovereigns to 12,500 coins.  I imagine that with the gold price today at over $1000 per ounce these British gold proof coins will sell out.

History of the British Gold Sovereign

As I mentioned above, the sovereign was first produced in 1489.  The Sovereign was the first coin to have a value of one pound sterling.  These first sovereigns start at around 7000 pounds.

The modern Royal Mint sovereign was first issued in 1816.  These new sovereign coins featured St. George slaying a dragon.  This image on the reverse of the sovereign was designed by Benedetto Pistrucci and is considered one of the best coin designs in the world.

The first gold proof sovereign was issued in 1979 and has been issued annually ever since.  Collecting gold proof sovereign coins makes a great collection.  If you love collecting gold coins, I highly recommend buying British sovereigns.

Do you own any gold sovereigns?  If so, please tell us what lead you to buy one.  If you would like to read more about gold coins, here is a recent article on buying gold bullion coins.  This article also discusses the gold British sovereign coins.