The Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon hoard, found in 2008 near Paris, is among the biggest Roman coin hoards. The two jars, successively found by workers and by archaeologists, contained nearly 34,000 copper alloy coins of the second half of the 3rd century AD. Although exceptional in size, the hoard belongs to a most common category of coin hoards. As its complete study is drawing to an end, this paper aims at discussing the methodology used and the challenges faced to complete such a long-term task. Is it really worth the effort, as several very big hoards of this kind have already been published? Every coin hoard has its interesting features and the Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon is unique, as shown by its internal structure. Therefore, it deserves to be thoroughly studied and compared to other treasures for a better understanding of hoarding practices and coin circulation patterns.
