COIN HOARD

This report will consider these coins and ceramics with respect to the criteria laid down in the Treasure act (1996): Namely, their age, precious metal content and whether the items can be said to come from the same find.

Circumstances of Find

Found by Messrs D. Philips and B. Plasom with the aid of a metal detector about 70cm below the field surface, 1.12.06. The initial discovery of the coins was made in and around the remains of their plough damaged pottery container. A small excavation was then made by the Herts. and Beds. FLO, Julian Watters. This excavation yielded more coins and pottery. Watters concluded that the coins had been deposited on the same spot as a Roman rubbish pit or midden; however, due to the fact that the find had already been removed prior to investigation a stratigraphical relationship could not be established.

Description of the coins

This group consists of 1,456 coins made in the fourth century AD. In fact all but 14 were produced in the AD 340s and 350s. Each coin, generally known today as a nummus, is predominantly copper-alloy with a tiny admixture of silver. The legends on the reverse of the nummi of AD 348-50 invariably read FEL(ix) TEMP(orum) REPARATIO which can be translated as 'happy times are here again' ('FTR' on summary). It was an optimistic hope prompted by the year 348 coinciding with the 1,100^th anniversary of the traditional founding of Rome and the belief that it marked the beginning of a new age for the embattled empire. The plentiful earlier coinage of the century prior to AD 348 is largely absent here and this is generally the case with previously recorded 'Fel Temp' hoards.^[1]

Catalogue:

London Amiens Trier Lyon Arles Others Uncert. Total Imitations

Constantinian 2 - 8 3 - 1 - 14 -

348-50

Galley - - 66 3 6 19 10 104 70

Hut - - 20 5 5 25 3 58 1

FH - - - 3 9 3 - 15 -

Phoenix - - 4 - - - 1 5 -

Magnentius

FH - - 5 - 4 - - 9 -

Felicitas - - 54 27 8 - 4 93 98

FTR - - - 2 - - - 2 -

Gloria - 11 57 6 11 - 5 90 56

2 Victories - 2 - 2 1 - 1 6 7

Virtus - - - - - 1 - 1 -

Chi-Rho - 63 96 34 6 - 52 251 23

'Poemenius' - - 43 - - - 6 49 -

Brockage - - - - - - 1 1 -

351-55

FH large - 38 17 18 2 24 - 99 12

FH small - - 11 105 23 1 - 140 198

Uncertain FH - - - - - - 54 54 -

Total 2 114 381 208 75 74 137 991 465

Grand total 1456

Three main groups are present. The first was produced during AD 348-50, the joint reign of Constantius II (AD 337-61) and his younger brother Constans (AD 337-50). Both had been brought up as Christians by their father Constantine the Great (AD 306-37) the first emperor to adopt the faith. Constans was the last legitimate emperor to visit Britain. The second consists of issues of the half-British usurper Magnentius who eliminated Constans and briefly made himself emperor of the west until defeated by the surviving brother. Shortly after Magnentius's downfall Constantius again reformed the coinage which had the effect of removing the usurper's coins from circulation. The assemblage just stretches into this third, post-Magnentian period. Although there are many reasons for the abandonment of hoards, it is possible that these coins quickly became useless or, worse still, represented an unwanted association with a discredited regime.

From the same find?

Chronologically the coins belong to one coinage system and form a discrete compositional group of coins that would have been briefly current in Britain around the middle of the fourth century AD.

Conclusion

On the balance of probabilities, therefore, I conclude that these coins belong together as a hoard and constitute a prima facie case of treasure by being bronze coins of an antiquity greater than 300 years and are of one find of more than ten pieces. The pottery fragments by their association with the coins should likewise be considered treasure.

Richard Abdy

Dept. of Coins and Medals

British Museum

The ceramics

Around 15 fragments of a squat coarseware storage jar with green copper alloy staining on the inner surface where the pot has been in direct contact with the coins. The fabric (pink grog tempered ware) is dull pink with a heavy grey core and ill sorted inclusions of grog and mica (Tomber and Dore 1998, 210).

Conclusion

There are also a large number of fragments of other similar coarseware vessels in a range of fabrics, as well as tile, brick and fragments of mortaria. Only the pieces stained with copper can be directly associated with the coin hoard and considered as treasure.

Ref.: Tomber, R. & Dore, J. 1998. The National Roman Fabric Reference collection. Museum of London.

Dr Richard Hobbs,
Curator, Romano-British Collections

27^th October 2008

[1] Such as Wheaton Aston: CHRB X, pp. 392-7; see also the Welbourne hoard (412 nummi to AD 354), CHRB XII (forthcoming)