Original headline:
HOW DID A NORTH AFRICAN COIN FROM 47BC END UP IN A LINCOLNSHIRE FIELD?
A silver coin minted in north Africa 47 years before the birth of Christ has been found in a Lincolnshire field.
Amateur archaeologist Adge Winstanley (55) discovered the coin while he was searching a farmer's field in Wragby, near Lincoln.
The artefact - a silver denarius - is potentially the oldest coin ever found in Lincolnshire. Mr Winstanley of East Barkwith, near Louth, was using his metal detector to scour the land when he came across the coin.
"I picked the site because I knew Roman pottery was regularly found on the surface," he said.
"After targeting a particular area of the field I noticed that one section was giving a high bleep count.
"After a few quick digs I found this coin - it was literally three inches below the surface."
Mr Winstanley has been scouring the Lincolnshire countryside for the past 20 years and has found lots of Roman coins.
"Obviously I could tell they were coins but I had never seen anything like this - I thought it maybe from ancient Greece," he said.
Once the coin had been cleaned he reported the find to the Portable Antiquities Scheme - a project run by Lincolnshire County Council which records archaeological objects found by members of the public.
The team researched the coin and found it was minted in North Africa between 47 and 46 BC.
Mr Winstanley, who runs Ancient World, in Steep Hill, Lincoln, said: "Over the years I have found a Bronze age axe head, an Iron age spear and bits of pottery.
"But this is probably the oldest item I have come across. And to be told it was an extremely rare British find is what I live for.
"It is amazing to think the last person to touch the coin, before me, was Roman."
Once the coin was identified and logged by the council it was given back to Mr Winstanley.
He said: "I will keep this now as a family heirloom, I don't know how much it's worth and I don't care.
"It is a part of history and that is what matters."
Lincolnshire County Council's Find Liaisons Officer, Adam Daubney (24), said: "This coin was minted before the Romans invaded Britain - so it really is quite an amazing discovery.
"This type of coin would have been in circulation until about AD110. It is a very unusual find, and extremely well preserved."
Depicted on the reverse face of the coin is the Roman Empire's Head of Africa - at the time this was the Metellus family. The man is wearing an elephant skin hat and to his side is a sheaf of wheat.
On the coin's front is a picture of Hercules - the Roman god of victory and commerce.
Mr Daubney said: "We didn't know of any early Roman activity in the area of the find until this coin came to our attention. It is a great find and perhaps one of the oldest Roman coins ever found in our county."
He said most Roman coins found in Britain dated from after the invasion of 43AD.
Anyone who has found an artefact should call Mr Daubney on (01522) 553112.
Write to: Adam Daubney, Lincolnshire County Council, Floor 3, City Hall, Lincoln.
