Some of the Roman coins found at Stag Lane, Chorleywood, last Spring will be given to local councils as keepsakes.
A jar containing 4,350 Roman bronze coins was found by the contractors who are building the new reservoir for Rickmansworth and Uxbridge Valley Water Company.
The British Museum has established the coins are not treasure trove, which automatically makes them the property of the owner of the land, the water company.
But most of the coins will be returned to the man who found them, following a decision by the company, who have also offered 20 each to Chorleywood Parish Council, Three Rivers Council and Hertfordshire County Council.
Some coins have been given to the British Museum and when they are distributed in the near future, some will be sent to the Verulamium Museum of St Albans, and just a few kept in a showcase at the company’s headquarters in Rickmansworth.
The coins were minted during the reign of Constantine the Great. They commemorate the renaming of Byzantium to Constantinople when it became the capital of the Roman Empire in 330AD.
The coins were found in large numbers and the value of each is estimated to be around 50p.
[From the Watford Observer of May 5, 1978]
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