Swiss Cherry Farmer Finds Ancient Roman Coins In Orchard

A Swiss cherry farmer found something a little sweeter than usual in his orchard when he uncovered a trove of ancient Roman coins buried in the ground under his cherries.

According to The Local, a cherry farmer in Switzerland actually found the coins in a mole hill. He came across the coins quite by accident, and they had been so well hidden they were tinged with green.

Archaeologists found 4,166 bronze and silver coins in total, dating from 270 to 294 c.e. From the first century b.c.e until the 400s, large areas of Switzerland were part of the Roman empire. Certain vestiges of the Roman presence remain, and archaeological events like this are not unheard of, though this cherry orchard turned out to hold one of the biggest collections of Roman coins ever found in Switzerland, experts say.

"The owner must have deliberately chosen to hoard these coins for the silver in them guaranteed a certain value in a time of economic uncertainty," said coin expert Hugo Doppler.

The coins reportedly represent about average earnings for one or two years at the time they were hidden, and the archaeologists say they are in very good condition.