LONDON - A British treasure hunter has found a hoard of about 52,000 Roman coins, one of the largest such finds ever in Britain.

The British Museum and the Portable Antiquities Scheme announced the find on Thursday.

Dave Crisp located the coins in April in a field in southwestern England.

The third-century coins were buried in a large jar about a foot (30 centimeters) deep and weighed about 160 kilograms (350 pounds) in all.

Some of the coins are currently on display at the British Museum.