Published by The Daily Mail Online, written by Emily Andrews, Friday 16th November 2012
But this silver coin, discovered in a field, could be worth up to £80,000 if proved to be a genuine Roman antique.
Colin Popplewell, 58, and Mark Hildreth, 38, say the coin – which is the size and weight of a penny – is only the second one in history to be found featuring the short-lived Emperor Proculus.
This is only the second Roman coin ever found featuring the Emperor Proculus. It is estimated to fetch £80,000 at auction, but could go for a lot more. Some experts think it is a 15C forgery
A metal detecting expert, Julian Evan-Hart, certainly believes the coin is genuine and that it was minted to mark the brief rise to power of Proculus in 280AD.
Father-of-two Mr Popplewell, who made the find in a field near Stamford Bridge, East Yorkshire, on November 7, said: ‘The first coin with Proculus was found in a collection in Germany in the 1980s. It sold in 1991 for £40,000.
‘It was in a private collection that dated back a century so there was no way of validating whether the coin was authentic or a contemporary forgery, made in the Roman times.
‘Our find is ground-breaking because it validates the first coin and gives weight to the history of Proculus – it really will change the history books.’
But coin specialist and renowned academic Roger Bland, who is Keeper of the Prehistory and Europe Department of the British Museum, disagrees that the coin is genuine.’
He said: ‘I don’t believe any coins of Proculus were ever made and this one is probably a 15th century forgery.
– Taken from Article
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