Five Roman silver denarii over 2,000 years old unearthed in Halle, a first for Saxony-Anhalt

Five silver denarii from the Roman Republic, dating to the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, have been discovered in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. The find was made last year by volunteer monument conservator Dirk Braungardt and has now been examined by the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology in Halle.

Numismatist Anika Tauschensky confirmed the coins are not random individual losses but the remains of a small hoard, meaning objects deliberately buried or hidden. One denar was minted in 148 BC, while the other four were struck between 82 and 79 BC. The coins show clear signs of wear and were apparently in circulation for a long time. Four of the five pieces were minted within a few years of each other. Three belong to the so-called serrati, denarii with serrated edges, two of which also bear graffiti.

The coins show clear signs of wear and were apparently in circulation for a long time. It is striking that four of the five pieces were minted within a few years.

The coins were originally deposited in a tightly confined space but were found scattered in the soil, which archaeologists attribute to later influences such as ploughing, erosion, or animal activity. They may have been kept in a small purse or similar container that was lost or deliberately placed in the ground. Tauschensky suggested the coins could have been part of an originally larger denarius hoard. The absence of imperial-era coins may indicate the hoard arrived in the region around the turn of the millennium or shortly thereafter.

The absence of imperial-era coins could indicate that the hoard arrived in the region around the turn of the millennium or shortly thereafter. If the coins had reached the Halle area significantly later, one would theoretically also expect imperial-era coins among them.

Since no Roman monetary economy existed in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, the denarii likely circulated not as currency but as valuable silver objects. Archaeologists cite long-distance trade, military contacts, and diplomatic exchanges as possible routes by which the coins reached the region.