COIN HOARD

CORONER'S REPORT

A Roman silver denarii coin hoard.

Description of Find

The latest coins of the group are of the emperor Tiberius (AD 14-37), produced at the mint of Lyon over a lengthy period throughout the reign. However this does not necessarily indicate deposition prior to the Roman invasion of AD 43. The coins may have been circulating for a considerable time after the death of Tiberius since silver was only minted in small quantities between AD 37-64 (and were rapidly withdrawn after a major change to the silver content of the coins minted from AD 64 onwards), and characteristically have a low presence in early hoards of denarii from Roman Britain (J.Orna-Ornstein, 1997. X 23-9). Also characteristic is the significant presence of Republican issues which continue to circulate throughout the first century AD.

Hoard summary:

All silver denarii:

Republic (before 44 BC) 19

Tiberius (AD 14-37) 3

Total 22

Age and Metal Content

Roman silver coinage produced at the time of later Republic and early Empire was of slightly higher purity than sterling silver. The Treasure Act threshold is a minimum of 10% unless ten or more coins of base composition are found together. For objects to be considered treasure by the Act they must be of an antiquity greater than 300 years.

Conclusion

On the balance of probabilities, therefore, these coins belong together as a hoard (of typical composition for the mid-first century AD) and constitute a prima facie case of treasure by being silver coins of an antiquity greater than 300 years and are of one find of more than two pieces.