HOARD

Roman hoard of mid fourth century copper alloy coins ('nummi') buried in three separate vessels; reported as potential Treasure and delivered to the British Museum for micro-excavation, cleaning and cataloguing. 

The coins range from AD 310 to the AD 340s. The main denomination, generally known today as a nummus (plural nummi), is predominantly made of copper-alloy with a tiny admixture of silver. No earlier radiates are present. The earliest coin is a nummus fraction struck to an earlier weight standard and therefore able to circulate amongst later nummi due to its similar size.

The bulk of the hoard (c. 92%) consists of the issues struck in large numbers between AD 330 and AD 341 (mostly the Gloria Exercitus type in the name of Constantine and his sons Constantine II, Constantius II and Constans as well as the Urbs Roma and Constantinopolis commemorative issues). As is typical for hoards post-dating the closure of the London mint, the Gallic mints of Trier, Lyon and Arles predominate. Just a few of the heavier nummi struck before 330 are present.

The latest coins in the hoard are smaller nummi of the ‘Two Victories’ type inscribed VICTORIAE DD AVGG Q NN. This is traditionally dated (eg by the standard reference work RIC) to AD 347-8 though this type may have had a longer issue period in the 340s.

A very small percentage of irregular coinage (ie ancient forgeries) are listed These are mostly struck copies in poor style and fabric. However it is likely that this is a considerable underestimate; due to the difficulty of identifying ancient forgeries at this period due to the size of the module, museum policy has always been to treat coins as regular if they otherwise confirm to published type in reasonable style and many forgeries of this date are virtually indistinguishable except by metal analysis. At least 20% of the coins in the hoard were covered in lead corrosion products, rendering them hazardous to handle. This is thought to relate to general burial conditions of the hoard (eg the leaching of lead) contaminating the coins as there is no appreciable difference between the affected coins and the remainder.

The hoard is of particular interest due to the manner of its deposition, in multiple containers. Numismatic assessment suggests that there was no sorting of the contents prior to deposition and that the deposit in all three containers came from the same pool of coinage (whether saved or directly from circulation). The apparent use of kiln wasters for the deposition of the hoard may also shed light on possible connections between the find and the local pottery industry but more work is required on these.