<p>In one of the largest discoveries of ancient coins in Switzerland, a farmer has helped unearth more than 4,100 bronze and silver Roman coins dating between 270 and 294 AD in his cherry orchard.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The farmer from the village of Ueken in canton of Aargau first stumbled upon the "green-tinged" coins earlier in July.<br /><br />A total of 4,166 coins made of bronze and silver were collected in a find that "exceeds all expectations by far — something you experience as an archaeologist rarely more than once in a career," said archaeologist Georg Matter, who directed the search of the area.<br /><br />Officials said it is one of the largest discoveries of ancient coins made in Switzerland — all found within an area of a few square metres, 'The Local' reported.<br /><br />Archaeologists have already started to examine the coins that date from between 270 and 294 AD.<br /><br />Coin expert Hugo Doppler has examined 200 of the coins. The coins bear the images of different emperors, including Aurelian (270-275 AD), Tacitus (275-276 AD), Probus (276-282 AD), Carinus (283-285 AD), Diocletian (284-305 AD) and Maximianus (286-305 AD).<br /><br />The coins have a silver content of five per cent and are well preserved because they were immediately withdrawn from circulation, Doppler said.<br /><br />"The owner must have deliberately chosen to hoard these coins for the silver in them guaranteed a certain value in a time of economic uncertainty," he said. <br /></p>
<p>In one of the largest discoveries of ancient coins in Switzerland, a farmer has helped unearth more than 4,100 bronze and silver Roman coins dating between 270 and 294 AD in his cherry orchard.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The farmer from the village of Ueken in canton of Aargau first stumbled upon the "green-tinged" coins earlier in July.<br /><br />A total of 4,166 coins made of bronze and silver were collected in a find that "exceeds all expectations by far — something you experience as an archaeologist rarely more than once in a career," said archaeologist Georg Matter, who directed the search of the area.<br /><br />Officials said it is one of the largest discoveries of ancient coins made in Switzerland — all found within an area of a few square metres, 'The Local' reported.<br /><br />Archaeologists have already started to examine the coins that date from between 270 and 294 AD.<br /><br />Coin expert Hugo Doppler has examined 200 of the coins. The coins bear the images of different emperors, including Aurelian (270-275 AD), Tacitus (275-276 AD), Probus (276-282 AD), Carinus (283-285 AD), Diocletian (284-305 AD) and Maximianus (286-305 AD).<br /><br />The coins have a silver content of five per cent and are well preserved because they were immediately withdrawn from circulation, Doppler said.<br /><br />"The owner must have deliberately chosen to hoard these coins for the silver in them guaranteed a certain value in a time of economic uncertainty," he said. <br /></p>