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Coins

Minted by Carausius, this silver denarius is dated to 287 C.E.

Cool Finds

Railway Construction Reveals a Coin Minted by a Roman Officer Who Proclaimed Himself ‘Emperor of the North’ in Britain 1,700 Years Ago

Archaeologists in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire unearthed a silver denarius bearing the name of Carausius, who ruled the breakaway state of Britannia between 286 and 293

The church was built around 1300.

Cool Finds

This 700-Year-Old English Church Nearly Closed—but Then the Vicar Discovered a Stash of Gold Coins Under the Altar

Just before Easter, a box of gold bullion minted in the 1990s changed the outlook for a tiny congregation struggling to cover costly repairs

Isles of Scilly Museum curator Xavier Duffy examinating recovered treasures with diver Todd Stevens

Cool Finds

An Archival Discovery Became a Treasure Map Leading a Diver to a 17th-Century Shipwreck Carrying Coins and Gold Jewelry

See artifacts recovered thanks to a clue about the last resting place of a lost captain from an East India Company ship that went down near the Isles of Scilly

The red fox, native to the United Kingdom, is among the six shortlisted mammals up for public vote to appear on new bank notes. 

Can a Hedgehog Replace Winston Churchill? See Which Animals May Soon Swap In for Historical Figures on British Pounds

Butterflies, dolphins and puffins are among the options the public will vote on to grace new bank notes

The new coin is one of five special quarter designs commemorating America's 250th birthday. 

America's 250th Anniversary

See the New Quarter Honoring Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence That Enters Circulation Next Week, Ahead of America’s 250th Birthday

The design is one of several coin denominations, and the third of five new quarters, made specially for the country’s semiquincentennial

Libertas Americana medal 

America's 250th Anniversary

Benjamin Franklin Styled Lady Liberty’s Look in This Medal He Commissioned to Honor American and French Allies in the Revolutionary War

Franklin combined art with diplomacy to create the Libertas Americana. For the United States’ 250th anniversary, the Paris Mint is giving the design a refresh

Different metal detectorists discovered the two "Lamb of God" coins at separate locations in Denmark.

Cool Finds

An English King Minted These Coins to Ward Off a Viking Invasion. Instead, the Seafaring Raiders Turned the Pennies Into Jewelry

Aethelred the Unready viewed the attacks on his kingdom as divine retribution. He hoped that a show of public penance, including the creation of coins featuring religious imagery, would help earn God’s forgiveness

Seven of the coins from the newly discovered hoard, which is the largest of its kind ever found in Norway

Cool Finds

See the Largest Viking Age Hoard Ever Found in Norway. At Nearly 3,000 Coins and Counting, the Cache Is a Once-in-a-Lifetime Find

Buried in the mid-11th century, the stash includes silver pieces minted under rulers such as Cnut the Great, Aethelred the Unready and Harald Hardrada

Metal detectorists uncovered 25 of the coins in the summer of 2022. Archaeologists later unearthed an additional 38.

Cool Finds

A Metal Detectorist Stumbled Upon a Silver Coin. It Turned Out to Be Part of a Stash Buried During the Viking Invasion of Britain

Archaeologists say that the 63 coins, most of which bear the name of King Burgred of Mercia, might have been hidden in the ninth century to keep them safe at a time of unrest

This ancient Greek coin is now on view in Berlin.

Cool Finds

A 13-Year-Old Boy Found This Bronze Coin in a Field. It Turned Out to Be the First Ancient Greek Artifact Discovered in Berlin

Minted in Troy in the third century B.C.E., the object might have been buried as a gift to the dead. Archaeologists don’t know exactly how it ended up in modern-day Germany

The 1851 $50 gold slug was one of the first coins minted in San Francisco.

This Rare-Coin Scavenger Hunt in San Francisco Offers Participants the Chance to Relive the California Gold Rush

A local coin dealer will hide historic currency worth a total of $50,000 in its third annual citywide challenge on April 25

This coin was found near Chile’s Strait of Magellan.

Cool Finds

Hundreds of Spanish Settlers Died at the ‘Port of Famine.’ This Newly Discovered Silver Coin Reveals Where the Doomed Colony Was Founded 400 Years Ago

Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe was established on the north shore of Chile’s Strait of Magellan in 1584. When an English navigator came across it several years later, few survivors remained

Kat Baxter, curator of archaeology and numismatics for Leeds Museums and Galleries, poses with the 2,000-year-old coin.

Cool Finds

Someone Used This Mysterious Coin as Bus Fare in the 1950s. It Turned Out to Be 2,000-Year-Old Currency Minted by the Phoenicians

A public transit official working for the city of Leeds found the coin while counting bus and tram fares. Now, his grandson has donated it to Leeds Museums and Galleries

A third-century B.C.E. plaque unearthed at Ai-Khanoum in Afghanistan depicts the mother goddess Cybele in a chariot driven by Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

Afghanistan Was a Crossroad of the Ancient World, Where Hellenistic Culture Blended With Buddhist Influences

Alexander the Great conquered the region around 329 B.C.E., leaving behind Greek and Macedonian settlers who intermarried with locals. Their descendants eventually formed new kingdoms whose legacies continue to be debated today

The silver penny dates to the late 1130s.

Cool Finds

A Metal Detectorist Discovered the Earliest Known Coin Ever Produced in a Scottish Mint

Experts previously thought the first Scottish coins were minted in England, but this penny came from Edinburgh. National Museums Scotland has now acquired the historic piece of silver

The 2026 commemorative coin set, featuring five new designs

See the New Coins Celebrating the Legacies of Elizabeth II, Charles Darwin and the British Grand Prix

Released by the Royal Mint, the designs from this year’s commemorative coin set also honor anniversaries connected to the King’s Trust and the Zoological Society of London

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2025 ranged from an Auguste Rodin sculpture to a ring bearing the likeness of the goddess Venus Victrix.

Cool Finds

Seventy-Two Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2025, From a Luxury Spa in Pompeii to a Pair of World War I Messages in a Bottle

The year’s most exciting discoveries included the site where a young George Washington stopped a friendly fire incident, the missing torso of a Buddha statue and a hidden Picasso painting

Human remains excavated in an ancient well in Croatia were likely those of ancient Roman soldiers, a new study suggests.

Seven Skeletons Found in a Croatian Well Were Likely Ancient Roman Soldiers Who Died During a Troubled Time for the Empire

The tall, adult men probably died during the battle of Mursa in 260 C.E., according to a new analysis of their remains

Experts at the British Museum examined the coins before returning them to the finders.

Cool Finds

A Family Found These Rare Tudor Coins Buried in Their Backyard. Now, the Trove Is Heading to the Auction Block

Discovered in southern England, the collection features dozens of gold and silver coins dating to the 15th and 16th centuries—including several inscribed with the initials of Henry VIII’s wives

The cache includes a mix of coins and other treasures.

Cool Finds

This Fisherman Was Digging for Worms in Sweden When He Stumbled Upon a Trove of Medieval Silver

Experts think that someone may have buried the copper cauldron full of coins and jewelry to keep it safe during a tumultuous period in the 12th century

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