The auction house Baldwin's is putting up the late antique hoard from Bishop's Wood, near Ross-on-Wye, up for sale. This from the press release:
Details of the hoard were first published in the 1896 edition of the Numismatic Chronicle, and also in the editorial of the Numismatic Circular in November of that year. In both publications a total of 17,550 coins were listed but many of these coins were subsequently given to local museums and the portion now being sold by Baldwin’s (containing 1,661 coins and the restored jar that contained them) has remained in the family of the original landowner since they were found in 1895.
Following the revolts of the usurpers Carausius and Allectus in Britain in the late third century A.D., it is likely that the area in which the hoard was found was occupied by Roman soldiers at the time the coins were deposited. Given its size it is assumed that the Bishop’s Wood Hoard formed part of a military treasure, intended as payment for the legions. There were no banks in Roman Britain, so the usual practice was to hoard large quantities of money and deposit it in the ground for safe-keeping. It is therefore a fascinating primary source of information for the mints employed in supplying Britain with coinage.
The contents of the hoard are composed almost entirely of bronze coins of the Constantinian family and we can surmise that it was deposited after A.D. 337 as there are many coins of Constantius II, who had received the title of Augustus in that year, included within it. The majority of the coins were minted at Lugdunum (Lyons), Treveri (Trier) and Arelate (Arles). Rome and Aquileia are also present, as well as a sprinkling of coins from Siscia, Thessalonica, Heraclea, Constantinople, Nicomedia, Cyzicus and Antioch. The coins are in very good condition, many of them having seen little or no circulation.
The full press release is here (it downloads as a Word doc). More at CoinLink and at Coin Update News.
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