{"recordID":"411643","finds":[{"created2":"2010 10 20","description":"<p>A gold <em>solidus <\/em>of Arichis II, <em>dux <\/em>of Benevento (Italy), probably Class I coinage of 758-765.<\/p><p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>See Grierson and Blackburn 1986 (<em>Medieval European Coinage 1: The Early Middle Ages<\/em>), 575, plate 50 (no 1096).<\/p><p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>The coin bears two cut marks at 1 and 5 o'clock respectively, both of which cut through the coin in a straight line, angled toward a point just right of centre. The cuts do not meet, however, so that the coin remained intact. These cut marks may represent an aborted attempt of 'hacking' the coin for gold - a practice common in the Early Medieval period.<\/p>","notes":"<p>The exact findspot is unknown. The coin was reported by the neighbour of  the deceased finder, who had left it in a tin with various coins found  over the course of his work. The finder was a groundskeeper for the  local schools in the Alnwick district, and this coin may have been found  during the course of work. Alternatively, the finder also helped on his  brother-in-law's farm outside of Alnwick. He did not travel abroad or  ever purchase antiquities. Alnwick has a long history and the coin may  have been a genuine ancient loss from the area, perhaps reinforced by  the incompleted hacking of the coin. On the other hand, Alnwick is the  seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, a number of whom were active  collectors of antiquities and many of which went on the Grand Tour in  their youths. It is feasible that one of the Dukes or another member of  their family brought the object back to Alnwick with them, where it was  subsequently given to someone and lost.<\/p>","old_findID":"NCL-F02EB5","id":"411643","objecttype":"COIN","classification":null,"subclass":null,"reuse":null,"created":"2010-10-20 15:55:39","broadperiod":"BYZANTINE","updated":"2010-10-27 21:18:25","treasureID":null,"secwfstage":"4","secuid":"PAS4CBF02EB00191A","findofnote":"1","objecttypecert":"1","datefound1":null,"datefound2":null,"createdBy":"438","curr_loc":null,"inscription":null,"reason":"National importance","subsequentAction":"Returned to finder"}],"record":[{"id":"411643","old_findID":"NCL-F02EB5","uniqueID":"PAS4CBF02EB00191A","objecttype":"COIN","classification":null,"subclass":null,"length":null,"height":null,"width":null,"thickness":"1.75","diameter":"19.81","quantity":"1","other_ref":null,"treasureID":null,"broadperiod":"BYZANTINE","numdate1":"758","numdate2":"765","description":"<p>A gold <em>solidus <\/em>of Arichis II, <em>dux <\/em>of Benevento (Italy), probably Class I coinage of 758-765.<\/p><p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>See Grierson and Blackburn 1986 (<em>Medieval European Coinage 1: The Early Middle Ages<\/em>), 575, plate 50 (no 1096).<\/p><p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>\n<\/p>\n\n<p>The coin bears two cut marks at 1 and 5 o'clock respectively, both of which cut through the coin in a straight line, angled toward a point just right of centre. The cuts do not meet, however, so that the coin remained intact. These cut marks may represent an aborted attempt of 'hacking' the coin for gold - a practice common in the Early Medieval period.<\/p>","notes":"<p>The exact findspot is unknown. The coin was reported by the neighbour of  the deceased finder, who had left it in a tin with various coins found  over the course of his work. The finder was a groundskeeper for the  local schools in the Alnwick district, and this coin may have been found  during the course of work. Alternatively, the finder also helped on his  brother-in-law's farm outside of Alnwick. He did not travel abroad or  ever purchase antiquities. Alnwick has a long history and the coin may  have been a genuine ancient loss from the area, perhaps reinforced by  the incompleted hacking of the coin. On the other hand, Alnwick is the  seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, a number of whom were active  collectors of antiquities and many of which went on the Grand Tour in  their youths. It is feasible that one of the Dukes or another member of  their family brought the object back to Alnwick with them, where it was  subsequently given to someone and lost.<\/p>","reuse":null,"created":"2010-10-20 15:55:39","updated":"2010-10-27 21:18:25","secwfstage":"4","findofnote":"1","objecttypecert":"1","datefound1":null,"datefound2":null,"inscription":null,"disccircum":null,"museumAccession":null,"subsequentAction":"1","objectCertainty":"1","dateFromCertainty":"1","dateToCertainty":"1","dateFoundFromCertainty":null,"dateFoundToCertainty":null,"subPeriodFrom":"2","subPeriodTo":"2","reason":"National importance","username":"rcollins","fullname":"Robert Collins","institution":"NCL","usernameUpdate":"sam","fullnameUpdate":"Sam Moorhead","primaryMaterial":"Gold","secondaryMaterial":null,"decoration":null,"style":null,"manufacture":"Struck or hammered","surfaceTreatment":null,"completeness":"Complete","preservation":null,"cert":"Certain","periodFrom":"BYZANTINE","periodTo":"BYZANTINE","culture":null,"discmethod":"Gardening","finder":null,"identifier":"Dr Robert Collins","secondaryIdentifier":null,"recorder":"Dr Robert Collins","county":"NORTHUMBERLAND","parish":null,"district":"ALNWICK","easting":null,"northing":null,"gridref":null,"fourFigure":null,"map25k":"NU1812","map10k":"NU11SE","address":null,"postcode":null,"findspotdescription":null,"lat":null,"lon":null,"knownas":"Alnwick area","source":null,"obverse_description":"facing bust holding cross","obverse_inscription":"DNSVI CTORIA","reverse_description":"akakia w A to left","reverse_inscription":"VICTIR(wedge) (wedge)GVSTI","denomination":"Solidus","degree_of_wear":"4","allen_type":null,"va_type":null,"mack":null,"reeceID":null,"die":"6","wearID":"4","moneyer":null,"revtypeID":null,"categoryID":null,"typeID":null,"tribeID":null,"status":"Regular","rulerQualifier":null,"denominationQualifier":"1","mintQualifier":null,"dieAxisCertainty":"1","initialMark":null,"reverseMintMark":"CONOB (N is reversed)","statusQualifier":"1","tribe":null,"region":null,"area":null,"ruler1":null,"ruler2":null,"period_name":null,"date_range":null,"mint_name":null,"wear":"Hardly worn: extremely fine","die_axis_name":"6 o'clock","category":null,"type":null,"emperorID":null,"mintid":null,"reverseType":null,"i":"301127","f":"IMG_4758.jpg","imagedir":"images\/rcollins\/"}]}