gracej99•15d agoProlific Poster

PSA: I found a Roman coin in my backyard in Ohio of all places

I was digging a hole for a new fence post last weekend and hit something hard at about 8 inches down, turned out to be a 3rd century Roman copper coin. I have no idea how it got there but the local museum curator said it's likely a souvenir someone lost decades ago, has anyone else ever found something weirdly out of place while gardening?

3 comments

3 Comments

milesbarnes15d agoTop Commenter

That Constantine era coin you found could be part of a larger story. The Ohio River valley had a lot of 19th century river traffic and some of those early traders and settlers brought back souvenirs from Europe. I read once that a guy in Cincinnati found a small Roman bronze figurine in his basement in the 1970s, and it turned out to be from a collection that was lost when a steamboat sank in the 1850s. Your coin might have come from something similar, maybe a trunk or a suitcase that got buried or washed up along the river and eventually ended up in someone's backyard. It makes you wonder what else is sitting a few feet under the ground in those old neighborhoods.

lucashenderson15d ago

Wow, did the museum say if it was from a specific Roman emperor or just a random third-century coin?

milalewis15d ago

@lucashenderson from the wear on it, the curator said it was probably Constantine the Great era, early 300s. Which is ironic because I think the only thing I've ever found in my yard before this was an old rusted rake head. So naturally my gardening skills have now peaked and will never top that discovery. It's just bizarre to think someone lost a coin from the other side of the world in the middle of Ohio for me to dig up centuries later.