When Bjarne showed his treasure at home, his parents quickly contacted the authorities in the northern German city of Bremen.
According to archaeologists, it is a Roman denarius, minted during the reign of the philosophical emperor Marcus Aurelius from 161 to 180 AD. – the last Roman ruler who ruled the Pax Romana or maintained Roman Peace.
High inflation leads to worse silver
The newly discovered coin weighs 2.4 grams and is clearly worn.
The denarius was minted at a time when the Romans reduced the silver content in their coins to combat high inflation, Uta Halle, an archaeologist and professor at the University of Bremen, said in a press release.
She calls the find ‘very special’, because it is extremely rare that Roman denarii are found around Bremen in the state of the same name.
This area was never under Roman rule, but was the domain of the Chauken, a Germanic tribe that often traded with the Roman Empire.
The silver coin may have ended up in northern Germany as part of that trade.
The 8-year-old student, who can now write ‘amateur archaeologist’ on his CV, is not allowed to keep his find, because according to the law it belongs to the state.
But state archaeologists praise Bjarne for his “attentiveness and curiosity” and promise to press release two archeology books as a reward for his find.
Halle hopes that the denarius will be given a place in the Focke Museum in Bremen, where she heads the antiquities department.
2023-09-02 15:10:42
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