Roman Gold Solidus of Julius Nepos

Roman Gold Solidus of Julius Nepos

This beautiful Roman gold coin found recently near Shalfleet is a solidus of Julius Nepos (AD 474-475)  At this time the Western Roman Empire was on the point of collapse. Nepos proclaimed himself emperor in June 474 but was murdered the next year. The coin is a rare find and this is the only example …more

Very Rare Anglo-Saxon Coin

Edward the Elder Halfpenny

A recent find made on the Isle of Wight IOW-43BDDE is a complete round Early-Medieval (Anglo-Saxon) silver halfpenny of Edward the Elder (899-924) minted by Wulfheard. Round halfpennies from the Anglo-Saxon period are very rare (most halfpennies are simply pennies cut in half). This is the first recorded round halfpenny of Edward recorded on the …more

Finding Out How To Blog

British Museum

Yesterday I attended a PASt Explorers training event at the British Museum in my new role as Volunteer Editor of the Isle of Wight ‘County Page’ on the Portable Antiquities Scheme Website. I discovered how to edit the County Page online, how to create a blog and the mysteries of inserting hypertext links. It’s never …more

Anglo-Saxon Pendant or Bracteate

This is a complete Early-Medieval (Anglo-Saxon) gold pendant from the 6th Century (c. AD 500 – c. AD 550) called a bracteate IOW-125794. More than 940 gold bracteates are known from the second half of the 5th and first half of the 6th centuries. Most of them have been found in Scandinavia but some 50 are from Anglo-Saxon England. …more