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Description: | Treasure Case 2005 T418: a hoard of 310 Roman coins, silver denarii.Report from British Museum:"The group consists of Roman silver coins (denarii) and begins with a coin of the trimvir Mark Anthony issued for his legions just prior to the battle of Actium in 31 BC. The latest legible coins are from the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 161 - 180).From the legible portion of the hoard the composition appears typical of Roman denarius hoards found in Britain terminating with the coins of the Antonine dynasty. Although at least one coin older than 200 years was present in the circulation at the time of deposition there is a notable gap of those of the emperors of the first half of the first century AD. These latter were of high quality silver and were removed during the subsequent period of coinage debasement. this, together with the relative quantities of coin issues of each of the reigns present would be expected for a group of coins deposited together as a hoard, relfecting the mix of older and newer coin in the population at that moment in time.All the coins had suffered from a heavy build up of corrosion products. After cleaning in the Conservation Lab of the British Museum, it was felt that treatment to remove the corrosion layers would involve considerale resources in persuit of an uncertain result. The corrosion layers therefore remain on the coins at the time of examination and only a cursory catalogue can be prodiced with less than 30% identifiable to even the basic level given below. The reason why the denarii should be in such a corroded condition is not certain.Eighteen shards of Roman coarse ware pottery were recovered with the coins. These came from at least two different greyware vessels. It is not clear from the sherds which of these vessels contained the coins, if at all, as there is no trace of green patina that ften comes from contact with coins. It is possible that these shards do not come from pttery vessels directly associated with the hoard, but are evidence for other Roman activity at the same location.Roman silver coinage from the period of the Antonine Emperors was about 75% pure, with the older coins containing far higher amounts.From the composition and condition evidence given above, it would be safe to assume that the coins are from the same find. However, it is less likely that the pottery fragments found at the same time were part of the same deposit as the coins.Summary Coin Catalogue:Mark Antony (32 - 31 BC): 1Galba (AD 68 - 69): 1Flavian (AD 69 - 81)Vespasian: 1Vespasian or Titus: 3Domitian Caesar: 1Domitian (AD 81 - 96): 7Trajan (AD 98 - 117): 24Hadrian (AD 117 - 138): 25Sabina: 2Antonine (AD 138 - 180)probably Antonius Pius (AD 130 - 161): 5Diva Faustina I: 8Faustina II (reign of Pius): 1probably Marcus Aurelius (AD 161 - 180) or Lucius Verus (AD 161 - 169): 6Faustina II (perhaps reign of Marcus): 1uncertain Anonine Empresses: 4illegible: 220 (including one fragment)Total: 310Richard AbdyDepartment of Coins and MedalsBritish Museum21st Sep 2006 | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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