This 2,221-year-old coin dug up as part of a hoard is the oldest piece of Roman money ever found in Britain
Posted on 02/02/2010 9:15:34 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Dating from 211 BC and found near the Leicestershire village of Hallaton, the coin was uncovered with 5,000 other coins, a helmet and a decorated bowl.
Unearthed in 2000 by a metal detectorist, staff at the nearby Harborough Museum have only just realised its significance.
One side of the coin depicts the goddess Roma wearing her characteristic helmet while mythical twins Castor and Pollux sit astride galloping horses on the reverse.
David Sprason, Leicestershire County Council cabinet member for communities and well-being said: 'Leicestershire boasts the largest number of Iron Age coins ever professionally excavated in Britain.
'To also have the oldest Roman coin ever found is something very special.'
The type of coin, known as a denarius, was first struck in Rome in 211 BC, making the Hallaton coin a very early version, the council said...
Professor David Mattingly of the University of Leicester's School of Archaeology and Ancient History... added... 'It was minted in Rome at the time of the Hannibalic wars and here it is turning up after what must have been quite a long journey,' he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
This 2,221-year-old coin dug up as part of a hoard is the oldest piece of Roman money ever found in Britain
Damn, I just used my last one in a Coke machine!
Some Scot has been saving it all this time...
One wonders if they payed the finder accordingly being it was 10 years ago.
Looks like a Mercury dime!
WOW!
If you look closely—it’s a little faded—you can even see the inscription, “CCXI A.C.” (211 Ante Christum, “Before Christ”), thus proving its antiquity.
The finder gets paid. The coin would be independently valued (and not of course just for its silver content, but for its extraordinary provenance.)
I don’t care who you are that’s funny right there.
extremely cool!
{From a faded scroll near the ‘stash’}
“AVRVM - NON NEQVAM VMQVAM EST”
The Romans never would have stamped "211 B.C." in Arabic numerals ;-)
If it was stamped CCXI B.C. they might have pulled it off. ;>)
And since it *was* ten years ago, the coin must really be from 221 BC! ;’)
;’)
;’)
Generally ancient tombs had little in them due to the fact that they’d be looted. The so-called Treasury of Atreus — a spectacular example of Mycenaean corbelled dome — was more than likely built as a tomb and probably loaded with riches. There’s not even an old local tradition of how the place was raided, and literally nothing remains inside the thing, other than air. :’) The locals always find stuff and loot it for their own benefit (which, face it, most of us would too) and they’ve had centuries to do so. I’d like to think that there’s *something* around just waiting, but it’s not too likely. :’)
From article:
“The coin would have passed through many hands, he added.”
The find does NOT tell when it arrived in Britain, or who brought it.
It is often learned that trade and travel occurred earlier and of more distances.
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