Trier gold trove on display again

The world's largest trove of gold coins from the Roman imperial period can be admired again at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier from Saturday (September 10).

In 2019, burglars had tried to stealthe treasure, but they failed because of the bulletproof glass that protected the coins.

Although museum director Marcus Reuter told DW back then that the security concept had worked, the incident was reason enough for the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate to temporarily halt its exhibition of the coins to equip the treasure chamber with new security technology. This renovation cost around €1 million ($992,000).

The coins had been housed "in a secret, safe place," museum director Reuter said Monday when presenting the new coin cabinet.

The approximately 2,500 coins with a total weight of 18.5 kilograms had been found in 1993 during construction work for a parking deck in the former Roman city. They are believed to have been buried in a cellar by an unknown person in the year 196 AD during a civil war. The priceless coins depict 29 Roman emperors and empresses as well as members of the imperial house and are made of almost pure gold.

The trove of coins is now on display as part of an exhibition on the history of money from the Celts to the 20th century, which includes some 14,000 coins from various periods.

The Trier coin collection comprises a total of around 210,000 coins.

tla/pl (dpa, kna)