Field of 500 - Day 2 - 42/1 Roman Silver...

[CRUSADER]

This was Monday's hunt which we started early in the morning to avoid the hottest part of the day but had to call it short after 4 hours of gridding. (we were only aiming for 5 hrs!)
The 9-10 inch plough has really brought this field alive again & we were as sure as you can be that a Silver was coming our way. We badly needed one, as it was our first this month which is normally our highest month for Roman Silver (circa 5). It came roughly half way into the hunt but it wasn't the early type that we usually get from this Site, so a bit of a surprise.

42 Roman Bronze Coins
Late 19th C Great Eastern Railway Steamship Co. Button - An usual first. I had no idea the Railway owned Steamships!
19th C No.4 Marker for a Gunter Chain
Late 4th C heavily clipped Roman Siliqua

 

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[Switchblade]

Awesome finds!

 

[Westfront]

Perfect clipped circumscription.... I bet you thought 'what a thin Denarius' first. Great day! Congrats!

 

[Ron P]

Super finds! Do you suspect that the plow hit a clay pot filled with the bronze coins? Or have I been watching "Time Team" too much. I always enjoyed reading your finds, Good Hunting!!

Ron

 

[washingtonian]

Very cool CRU. I'm in continual awe.

 

[shaun7]

Wow...save some for me!

 

[Digger RJ]

As Usual Very Nice!!!! Very Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[CRUSADER]

Perfect clipped circumscription.... I bet you thought 'what a thin Denarius' first. Great day! Congrats!

Actually it was crusted up & I saw the edge of a small thin coin & thought it to be another bronze.

 

[CRUSADER]

Super finds! Do you suspect that the plow hit a clay pot filled with the bronze coins? Or have I been watching "Time Team" too much. I always enjoyed reading your finds, Good Hunting!!

Ron

No signs of that, this is pure heavy occupation scatter.

 

[Brendan75]

Hi, wow awesome finds. Congrats

 

[LI Tom]

You must have many thousands of those Roman bronzes(drool!),do you sell the better ones or just keep them in a big bucket like I keep my wheat cents?

 

[CRUSADER]

You must have many thousands of those Roman bronzes(drool!),do you sell the better ones or just keep them in a big bucket like I keep my wheat cents?

We have found about 14,000 (Cru'dad has the exact figure). I only sell what I can't afford to give the farmer half the money for, which is very few items, less than 1 object a year average.
I share the better ones & keep my share in albums. Then I have the lesser ones with some detail in a complete Roman Bowl, which I give out to people/kids when we do displays. Lastly I have a plastic box of scrappies;

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[Benjamin52]

Cool finds. Why were coins clipped back then, any explanation for this unusual setting? Do you know if this was usually done during minting to cut off excess weight or later by soldiers/traders? Wouldnt this decrease the weight of the coin and thus its value to the owner? I can hardly see a "making small change" purpose as with for example cut Spanish silver coins.

 

[CRUSADER]

Cool finds. Why were coins clipped back then, any explanation for this unusual setting? Do you know if this was usually done during minting to cut off excess weight or later by soldiers/traders? Wouldnt this decrease the weight of the coin and thus its value to the owner? I can hardly see a "making small change" purpose as with for example cut Spanish silver coins.

This was mostly only possible in the later Roman period (late 4th C) when the silver was thin enough. It was the same principle as the much later medieval clipping of hammered coins - to steal some of its value, get enough & melt it down.

 

[xr7ator]

Great stuff, Cru. Thanks, as always, for taking us along.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Bravo!

And to think I consider it an exceptional hunt if I can break the 19th century barrier.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Congrats on the really nice coin finds!

 

[secondstar]

Wow! You find some beauties!

 

[Donnie B from VA]

Beautiful Roman Siliqua.