A hoard of 37 AR denarii and Nene Valley ware pot sherds.

The Coins

All are Roman silver coins of a denomination known as the denarius (plural denarii). The earliest was a coin of the Domitian while he was still junior emperor or Caesar under his father Vespasian (AD 69-79); the latest were minted during the reign of Septimius Severus (AD 193-211). The last closely datable coin is AD 205 (Severus TR P XIII; i.e. holding the annually renewable title of the power of tribune for the 13^th time) although two coins of Severus's empress Julia Domna are only loosely datable up to the end of the reign.

Summary

Date and Metal Content

The coins satisfy the terms of the Treasure Act with regard to age and metal content. They are certainly more than 300 years old and all have precious metal contents far in excess of the 10% threshold.

Of the same find?

All the Roman coins listed here could plausibly have circulated together early in the third century AD (the first century coins are extremely worn) and it is unlikely that thirty seven such precious metal coins could have come from the same findspot area as a result of accidental individual deposition. Composition and the circumstances of discovery, including the remains of Romano-British pottery, would therefore suggest that these coins formed a hoard buried together in a ceramic jar for safekeeping in antiquity.

Conclusion

On the balance of probabilities, I conclude that this find constitutes a prima facie case of treasure under the terms of the Treasure Act (1996), by being a hoard of two or more precious metal coins of an antiquity greater than 300 years old and the pottery should be considered likewise by its association with the coins.

Richard Abdy

Curator, Roman coins

Department of Coins and Medals

British Museum

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