A small collection of Roman coins, thought to be over 2,000 years old, have been declared as treasure by Amgueddfa Cymru.

On July 11, a small hoard of Roman coins uncovered in mid Wales were declared treasure by the museum’s area coroner for South Wales Central, Patricia Morgan.

The coins were discovered by Shawn Hendry and Chris Perkins in May 2021 while metal-detecting on a field under pasture in Glascwm Community, Powys.

The group comprises of six silver coins, known as denarii, ranging in date from 32 BC to AD 161.

Roman emperors Titus, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius are represented on the coins, as well as the famed Roman general Mark Antony.

MORE NEWS:

The latest coin in the group could have been minted as late as AD 161, which Amgueddfa Cymru said suggests the coins were probably lost together between AD 145 and 165.

Most of the coins were in circulation for a long-time before they were lost and the earliest coin, of Mark Antony (32-1 BC), is extremely worn.

The museum believes that the coins were probably lost as a small purse group or as a small hoard.

Radnorshire Museum is interested in acquiring this hoard, after it has been independently valued through the Treasure Valuation Committee.

The hoard is the second notable group of Roman era coins to be uncovered in Powys in recent years, with a collection of 29 coins found between September 2020 and May 2021 by metal detectorists Darren Jessett, Justin Thomas and Mark Hewer in Llanelwedd.

The coins were declared treasure in February 2023 and dated as far back as AD 69.

At the time, the hoard’s value was about one month’s pay for a Roman legionary, before deductions. It is thought that the nearby Roman auxiliary fort at Colwyn Castle might have been the source of the coins and the person who buried them.

The coins were not the only Powys items to be valued by the committee, as a small medieval brooch, discovered in February 2021 by Michael Turner in Llywel, was also declared to be treasure in 2023.