COIN DIE

A thick and solid copper alloy rod, possibly a coin die, possibly dating from the Iron Age or Roman period, about 150 BC - AD 410. The object is circular in cross-section and is 32.3mm long, 15.4mm in diameter and weighs 48.3g. One end is complete. It has a chamfered or bevelled edge and a smooth flat surface. The other end, suggested to be the die face, is rough and irregular. Possible traces of the letters S C, or traces of a possible design may be visible, but they are not clear enough to be able to identify the design or coin type. An impression taken of this end is also inconclusive. The metal has a well developed green patina and is smooth.

If the letters S C are accepted, then this die must be for making moulds for irregular coins, as is the case for SUR-08FD05 which notes that: "This matrix has a positive image in relief which is a copy of the image on the finished coin. Consequently it could not be used as a die to strike coins (which would therefore be incuse)". However, the use of S C on coinage and the size of coin this die would produce do not seem likely to be compatible. The object does seem rather small to be a die. Compare also other coin dies: SUR-93184C which is an equally unclear die matrix, LVPL-AA6A55, KENT-2EEAF0 and NMS-0480E3. Roman coin dies were usually made from iron. It also does not display much evidence of striking, so it is possible that it is unfinished.

Andrew Brown and Richard Abdy of the British Museum have viewed images and suggested that another possibility to consider is that the rod may have been used to cut blanks from for making coins, a practise that occurred in the 4th century.

An alternative explanation is that this is part of a longer rod, which has broken, creating the uneven face, and the markings are random rather than intentional. A rod of this diameter could have been from a Post Medieval pestle similar to NLM-01B9B1, SUR-0010F4 and HESH-5E5B5B.