Archaeologists Discover 141 Ancient Gold Coins Depicting Nine Roman Emperors in Luxembourg

Archaeologists in Luxembourg have unearthed a stash of Roman gold coins dating back some 1,600 years. The coins are marked with faces of nine Roman emperors who reigned during the fourth and fifth centuries—including Eugenius, an illegitimate usurper who ruled the Western Roman Empire for just two years.

According to a statement from Luxembourg’s National Institute for Archaeological Research (INRA), the coins were excavated at an archaeological site in the northern village of Holzthum.

The site first piqued archaeologists’ interest in 2019, when amateur metal detectorists discovered coins in the area. Professionals carried out an official excavation between 2020 and 2024, according to news station RTL Lëtzebuerg’s Marc Hoscheid. Because the area was littered with munitions and explosives from World War II, researchers employed the country’s Army Mine Action Service to safely excavate the area.

The dig revealed a cache of 141 ancient Roman coins, which is valued at €308,600 (about $322,000). Researchers found remains of a structure on the site, which they think was once home to a burgus, a small Roman fortress or tower. Most of the coins are solidi, pieces of gold currency that were minted beginning in the fourth century C.E.

“This represents a huge amount of personal wealth for the individual or group who collected these coins,” Rebecca Usherwood, a historian at Trinity College Dublin, tells the Daily Express’ Joel Day. “Most people in the Roman Empire would rarely, if ever, have seen a single gold coin. To find this many indicates the owner was of considerable social standing, likely a military officer rather than a common soldier.”

The coins were made in an era known as the Later Roman Empire, which saw Rome transition to Christianity after the emperor Constantine I’s conversion in 313 C.E. The period was also characterized by diminishing Roman influence in European lands like present-day France, Germany and Luxembourg.

The cache was discovered in a region that was prosperous in the early fourth century, Usherwood adds. But by the early fifth century, Germanic peoples were increasingly invading from across the Rhine River, making the area “untenable” for Romans. She suggests that the coin collection’s owner may have buried their wealth because they were unable to flee with it.

“Perhaps they were involved in a skirmish or cut off from the site,” Usherwood tells the Daily Express. “It’s likely they died before they could recover their treasure.”

Three coins in the hoard depict the Roman emperor Eugenius, a professor of rhetoric who reigned between 392 and 394 C.E. A military general proclaimed Eugenius emperor of the West after the emperor Valentinian II was mysteriously killed. Theodosius I, the Eastern emperor, rejected Eugenius’ ascension and went to war against him, leading to Eugenius’ death in battle in 394. As Live Science’s Marjanko Pilekić writes, “His coins are especially rare because his time in power was so short.”

With excavations complete, the researchers are now analyzing their findings in a laboratory, per INRA. Eventually, their results will be published in a scientific journal.

“It will still take some time to process the excavations and finds,” says Eric Thill, Luxembourg’s culture minister, in a statement, per a translation by Live Science. “But it will undoubtedly increase our knowledge and understanding of the last century of the Roman Empire in the West.”