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Coins

The hunt includes around $10,000 worth of treasures, with individual prizes ranging from $300 to $3,500.

A Real-Life Treasure Hunt Is Underway in These American Cities

Stack’s Bowers Galleries is hiding certificates for rare coins and banknotes this month as it celebrates the 90th anniversary of its first auction in October 1935

During the summer of 2025, a team of divers pulled up 1,051 silver coins known as reales, five gold coins called escudos and other gold artifacts.

Divers Recover More Than $1 Million Worth of Gold and Silver Coins From 310-Year-Old ‘Treasure Fleet’ Shipwrecks

The vessels sank in a violent hurricane off the coast of Florida in July 1715, when they were traveling from Cuba to Spain with an estimated $400 million worth of coins and jewels from the New World

The bronze coins were found in a pit inside a complex of tunnels dug during the Great Revolt.

Cool Finds

Did Ancient Jews Hide These Coins for Safekeeping During a Fourth-Century Revolt Against Roman Rule?

A cache of coins bearing the faces of the Roman emperors Constantius II and Constans I was discovered in underground tunnels created by Jews in what is now northern Israel

These gold coins, known as cobs, date to 1707, the year before the San José sank.

Cool Finds

These Gold Coins May Solve the Mystery of the ‘World’s Richest Shipwreck,’ Confirming Its Identity as a Legendary 18th-Century Galleon

Minted in Peru in 1707, the money bolsters the evidence that the wreck is the Spanish ship “San José,” which sank off the Colombian coast in 1708 with treasure worth billions on board

Many of the coins are from the United Kingom, but some are from as far away as the United States and Asia.

Tourists Are Stuffing Coins Into the Cracks of the Giant’s Causeway, Damaging the Iconic Site in Northern Ireland

Authorities are urging visitors to stop wedging pocket change between the basalt columns, which are cracking and crumbling as the coins expand

A cache found in the Czech Republic weighed more than 15 pounds.

Cool Finds

Hikers Stumble Upon Gold Coins and Treasures That Could Be Worth $340,000

After discovering the 15-pound cache while hiking in the Czech Republic, the two men handed it over to a local museum

A selection of artifacts unearthed at the Hezingen site

Cool Finds

Elite Germanic Pagans Buried ‘Devil’s Money’ as Offerings for Their Gods at This Ancient Cult Site

Researchers excavated the deposits of coins and jewelry in the Netherlands, near the German border

The 404 coins discovered in a muddy field near Bunnik, a village in the Netherlands, in 2023 and 2024

Cool Finds

Two Metal Detectorists in the Netherlands Stumbled Onto Hundreds of Looted Coins From the Roman Conquest of Britain

The 404 coins, including 44 from Britain, are believed to be a mix of military pay and the spoils of war, stashed by a Roman soldier after he returned to the European continent

The coins are marked with the faces of nine Roman emperors.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 141 Ancient Gold Coins Depicting Nine Roman Emperors in Luxembourg

Three of the coins are particularly rare: They portray Eugenius, an illegitimate emperor who reigned for just two years in the late fourth century C.E.

The eye on the coin does not have lashes and is designed to resemble a camera lens.

George Orwell Gets His Own £2 Coin Featuring an All-Seeing Eye

Inscribed with quotes from “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” the Royal Mint’s latest release honors the author on the 75th anniversary of his death

Researchers think there may be as many as 20 graves at the site in southwest Norway.

Metal Detectorists Discover 1,200-Year-Old Graves That May Have Belonged to High-Status Viking Women

Excavations in Norway revealed a rich variety of artifacts, including jewelry, textile tools and stones positioned in the shape of a ship

Experts debate whether this bust depicts Cleopatra. 

Does This Peculiar Statue Found at an Ancient Egyptian Temple Really Depict Cleopatra?

Experts on the hunt for the queen’s tomb believe that they’ve found a small bust of her—but not everyone agrees

This gold ring features an engraving of Venus Victrix, or Venus the Victorious, a Romanized aspect of the goddess associated with imperial power and romantic conquests alike.

Cool Finds

Exceptionally Well-Preserved Gold Ring Featuring ‘Venus the Victorious’ Unearthed on Ancient Road in France

In addition to the 1,800-year-old piece of engraved jewelry, archaeologists discovered a trove of Carolingian coins, medieval pottery and more

Volunteers in Pennsylvania discovered a valuable Elizabeth II coin wrapped up in a dollar bill in one of their red kettles.

Anonymous Donors Across the Country Are Dropping Valuable Coins Into the Salvation Army’s Red Kettles

Many donors search their pockets for spare change, but some generous individuals are giving away historic coins worth thousands of dollars during the charity’s annual fundraising campaign

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2024 ranged from a jade Maya funerary mask to a Roman dodecahedron.

Cool Finds

Seventy-Seven Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2024, From a Mysterious ‘Anomaly’ Near the Great Pyramid of Giza to a Missing Portrait of Henry VIII

The year’s most exciting discoveries included musket balls fired in the early days of the American Revolution, a lost composition by Mozart and a medieval chess piece

This gold aureus featuring an image of Brutus was minted shortly after Caesar's death.

A Rare Coin Depicting Brutus, Caesar’s Infamous Assassin, Sells for $2 Million

Following the murder in 44 B.C.E., Brutus minted the gold aureus to promote his own image and celebrate his military victories

While roughly three dozen of the stolen coins have been recovered, 13 are still at large.

A Trove of Gold Coins Stolen From 300-Year-Old Florida Shipwrecks Has Been Recovered by Investigators

Contracted divers found 101 gold coins from the wreckage of a Spanish fleet in 2015, but they only reported 51 to authorities. Now, 37 of the stolen coins have been found

The coin features the bust of Honorius on one side. The other side depicts a person holding a banner or flag with a cross on it.

Cool Finds

This Mysterious Gold Pendant Featuring a Misspelled Inscription Is an Early Medieval Imitation of a Roman Coin

A metal detectorist in England discovered the unusual piece of jewelry, which was likely made in the late fifth or early sixth century C.E.

One side of the coin is stamped with a simple "NE" to represent New England, while the other side features Roman numerals to denote its value.

American Colonists Minted This Humble Silver Coin in 1652. It Just Sold for $2.52 Million

Settlers in Massachusetts needed cash, but England wouldn’t send any. So, they created their own mint in Boston and began making coins

The laptop that belonged to Chris Janczewski, former IRS-CI agent

A Federal Agent’s Laptop Held the Keys to Seize $3.6 Billion in Stolen Bitcoin. Here’s How It Ended Up at the Smithsonian

Soon to be on display at the National Museum of American History, the laptop is the centerpiece of a criminal case that shows an evolving understanding of cryptocurrency

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