AN APPEAL has been launched to save the largest Roman hoard found in the north of England.

The Yorkshire Museum needs to raise £44,200 in the next four months to keep the hoard of more than 1,800 Roman coins discovered in the region, which date back to 307AD.

A metal detectorist found the coins near Wold Newton, East Yorkshire, in 2014, which depict Constantius and are the first to proclaim his son Constantine Augustus after he was made emperor in York.

Today marks 1,710 years since Constantius died and Constantine, inset, succeeded him, and the museum wants to keep the hoard in public, rather than private, collections.

Andrew Woods, curator of numismatics at the Yorkshire Museum, said the find reflected “one of the most significant periods in York’s Roman history”.

He said: “It contains coins from the time of Constantius who died in the city and then the first to feature Constantine, rising to power. This was a pivotal moment in York’s history but also the history of the western world. It was also a time of great uncertainty in the empire, as different Roman powers looked to challenge Constantine’s claim as emperor.

“We hope to now save the hoard to make sure it stays in Yorkshire for the public to enjoy but also so we can learn more about this fascinating period as well as why it was buried and to whom it might have belonged.”

At the time of burial the hoard - consisting 1,857 Roman copper ‘nummi’ - was worth the equivalent of a legionary’s annual salary, three year’s salary for a carpenter or six years for a farm labourer. It could buy 700 chickens, 2,000 of the finest fish or 11,000 pints of beer. Richard Abdy, curator of Roman coins at the British Museum, said the hoard “represents an evocative illustration of the power politics at the time York was an imperial capital of the Roman World”, and a turning point in world history, as Constantine became the first Christian emperor.

For more information about the hoard, go to yorkshiremuseum.org.uk/wold-newton-hoard.

To find out how to donate to the fund, send an email to accounts@ymt.org.uk