Amateur treasure hunter unearths haul of Roman coins with £300 metal detector he bought off a friend Dorset fisherman Jason Hemmings, 41, makes stunning find in field Fifteen-coin find hailed by British Museum as 'very exciting discovery' It is believed a soldier dropped the money about 2,000 years ago Back then, the cash would have funded eight loaves of bread By Dalya Alberge Catch of the day: Dorset fisherman Jason Hemmings is usually satisfied when he finds a scallop, let alone a selection of historic coins An amateur fisherman snared himself an unusual catch - a haul of Roman and Iron Age coins, hailed by the British Museum as a 'very excting discovery'. Jason Hemmings usually spends his time plucking sea bass from the ocean. But, having recently bought a metal detector and taken up treasure hunting as a hobby, he struck gold in a field in Owermoigne, Dorset, finding 15 bronze and silver coins that may have been lying there for 2,000 years. Mr Hemmings, 41, began his hobby when he purchased the detector for £300 from a friend who wanted to upgrade his own. After scouring the field, he unearthed the first coin and, initially, that seemed to be it. 'I had a quick search and couldn't find anything else,' he said. I had to go home for Sunday roast. But I went back the next day, and that's when I came across more.' The machine was giving off such faint, intermittent signals that his friend did not think it was worth the effort of digging, but he persevered,. and the rest is history. He followed the required procedure in reporting the discovery under the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which encourages the voluntary recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. The local finds liaison officer realised its significance immediately. Although its financial value is low - just a few hundred pounds - the hoard is historically very important. Exciting discovery: Two of the Roman coins found by Mr Hemmings, 41. These show the head of Tiberius Pot luck: Mr Hemmings made the amazing discovery just weeks after he bought a metal detector from a friend for £300. The piece on the left shows the bare head of Claudius I Impressive haul: In total, Mr Hemmings came across 15 coins - thought to have been dropped by a soldier some 2,000 years ago. The coin on the left features the head of Janus, the God of beginnings and transitions Eleanor Ghey, a British Museum expert, said the moeny is likely to have been dropped by a soldier at the time Romans first came to the country. These coins are likely to be close in date to the conquest of Britain in AD 43. They almost pinpoint the time when the Romans were first in Britain. It's one of the earliest things we have. This is a very exciting discovery. The coins - three different currencies all circulating in Britain in the middle of the first century AD - include large bronze coins of the Roman emperor Claudius issued between AD 41 and 50. Proud: Mr Hemmings is going to make a trip to the British Museum, where his haul, believed to be worth a few hundred pounds, is being displayed 'Hoards which can be dated with confidence to the early years of the Claudian conquest are incredibly rare,' said Ms Ghey. The coins amount to 4.25 denarii which would have paid for about a week's food for a soldier - one denarius would have bought eight loaves of bread. The question of how and why coin hoards were buried in the Roman period is currently being investigated by a new research project at the British Museum and Leicester University. Mr Hemmings is planning to visit the British Museum, where the coins have just gone on show in the Citi Money Gallery.