Books: Hoards and Archaeology - read down

• Discussion and Pictures of Coins: 72-50BC, Cicero Crassus Caesar Pompey, Crawford 395/439
• The Mesagne Hoard and its implications for dating
• Coins from Morgantina and the date of the first Roman denarius
• Reviews of books on hoards and archaeology
• The Upchurch Hoard

The period 72-50BC is among the least understood in Roman Republican numismatics. The problem is that it was too quiet. The slave revolt of Spartacus was defeated in 71BC and there was no large-scale trouble on Italian soil for 20 years excepting the brief revolt of Cataline, memorably dealt with by Cicero. The war with Mithradates of Pontus was carried out in distant Asia, likewise the defeat of Crassus at Carrhae in 53BC. We don't know how the armies of Lucullus, Pompey, and Crassus were paid, perhaps in cistophoric tetradrachms, but Roman currency was evidently not struck in large volumes in this period. Compounding this, relative peace in Italy means that hoards are rare. In Crawford's hoard census, excepting about 15 common issues from the 72-50BC period, well represented in most late hoards, the remaining 50 or so coin issues are represented by 400 coins thinly spread over a dozen hoards, less than one of each coin per hoard. What's more no large hoard ends decisively in the middle of the period. So Crawford's ordering was based on very thin evidence, much of it prosopographical (the collective study of the lives, relationships and activities of a group of people). Then, in 1984 Charles Hersh and Alan Walker published a hoard of 5,940 coins believed to have been buried 58BC or so, but missing many large issues supposiedly from an earlier period, most notably the relatively large (in aggregate) muses series that supposedly dates to 66BC. The hoard as a whole was securely dated by fresh coins from the curule aedile coinage of M.Scaurus and P.Hypsaeus in 58BC. The presence of some issues that were thought to follow this date, the absence of many other issues thought to precede 58BC, and the massive size of the hoard which makes it very unlikely that absence could be due to chance factors, has required a wholesale redating of the period, with in some cases significant changes to dates adopted by Crawford or Sydenham . I adopt the Hersh and Walker dating here.

Click on any photo to see that coin. Or click on the right-hand blue link to see the entire set.

72-59BC, Crawford 395/417, Cicero Crassus Pompey

Following the defeat of Spartacus in 71BC and the first consulship of Crassus and Pompey in 70BC, the 60s were the decade of Cicero, Crassus and Pompey. At the end of 60BC, Caesar was elected to the consulship for 59BC signalling a transition to a new force in politics, one that would lead to Empire. Conveniently the Mesagne hoard closes on the date-certain issue of M.Scaurus and P.Hypsaeus as curule aediles the following year, so this set contains essentially all the coins in the Mesagne hoard apart from those of 58BC. Notably Crawford 405 M.Plaetorius Cestianus, and Crawford 410 Q.Pomponius Musa, both large issues, are missing. The coins are arranged according to Hersh and Walker. The coins of 72-70BC are notable for their rarity and their interesting types. The Crawford 396 athletic type show different prizes awarded in games on different dies, in this case a pot, perhaps of oil, below the athlete’s feet. The rare coins of Pomponia have eight individually numbered reverse dies each associated with one symbol, in this case the prawn is number III. The eagle with wreath type was to be copied on a civil war era gold stater thirty years later.

www.flickr.com 72-60BC Cr399/420 Cicero Crassus Pompey Spartacus

58-50BC, Crawford 405/439, Caesar in Gaul, Crassus, Pompey

The 50s BC were the decade of Caesar in Gaul, and a concerned Pompey, Crassus (to die at Carrhae in 53BC), Cicero and Senate in Rome. All the coins in this set apart from those of 58BC are missing from Mesagne. The arrangement here is that proposed by HB Mattingly, which also considers W.Hollstein's study from 1993, and differs in some details from that of Hersh and Walker. The missing Crawford 405 and 410 are dated to 57BC and 52BC respectively. A minor anomaly of HB Mattingly's write-up is that Crawford 411 L.Torquatus is not discussed by Mattingly, thus placed in 58BC as per Hersh and Walker. Coins of this decade are produced to a remarkable artistic standard. The low volume of coinage in the late 50s BC might relate to the turbulent political situation in Rome. One wonders how then were Caesar's Gaul legions paid. Perhaps by the donatives eventually given out at his triumph with his large gold issue of 46BC. Coin issues of this last decade before the civil war probably represent the peak of ancestral allusions on coin types, cleverly worked in high quality workmanship. Faustus Cornelia Sulla, Quaestor in 54BC and the eldest surviving son of the Dictator Sulla, produced a series of elegant types commemorating his father, including one showing Sulla's subjugation of Jugurtha, on the right of the coin in chains, and submission of Bocchus, on the left offering a palm to Sulla, in 104BC.

www.flickr.com 59-50BC Cr421/439 Caesar in Gaul, Crassus, Pompey

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Morgantina Studies II: The Coins, T.V. Buttrey, Princeton, 1989

This is a fundamental archaeological report on the date of the first denarius issue. What is remarkable is that Rudi Thomsen deduced the date of the denarius to 212BC from a multitude of empirical sources in his 1957 study, however Professor Buttrey provided incontrovertible physical evidence in excavations in the late 1950s, republished in this book which contains two of his essays as well as other material. One addresses the archaeological evidence for the date of the denarius, the other from 1979 rebutts an alternative theory with additional analysis and evidence. The first essay is so compelling that I quote part of it below, courtesy of Professor T.V. Buttrey:

Well-reported and intact hoards are news worthy events. Sutton Hoo. Hoxne. Staffordshire. Most hoards are of course smaller, and even where properly reported they usually fade into obscurity with their contents dispersed and not as much as one colour photo on the internet. Although not Roman Republican this hoard is probably more typical of the scale of many private savings containing just 5 denarii equivalent, so I thought worth the illustration.

In the winter of 1950 near the village of Upchurch, Kent, a pot containing twenty Roman sestertii dating from the late 1st century to the second half of the second century AD was found in the area known as Slay Hill Marshes. All the coins were fairly worn, thus indicating a long period of use, with the most recent Divus Aurelius and Faustina II in Very Fine condition, and those of Domitian and Trajan in Fine, some with corrosion and others with good surfaces. Judging from this, and the pot, which is a small bellied Olla, a type typical for the area, the hoard was probably concealed sometime in the early third century AD (Source: Gavin Manton). The hoard contents are as follows (all sestertii): Domitian 1, Trajan 3, Hadrian 8, Antoninus Pius 2, Elder Faustina 1, Marcus Aurelius 3, Divus Aurelius 1, Younger Faustina 1.

Whilst it is perhaps unusual that it is all sestertii, the amount equals exactly 5 denarii, so it may have been a savings hoard. An alternative explanation suggested by Richard Abdy in Numismatic Chronicle 2003, from his analysis of a very similar hoard found in Longhorsely, Northumberland near Hadrian’s wall and with, again, the last coin of Faustina II, is that the cost of the brass in the 3rd century AD far exceeded the 5 denarii face value of the coins. This and other similar hoards may have been reserved due to their large size and weight for use as bullion. Abdy quotes four hoards, not including Upchurch which was not cited. He notes that supply of third century sestertii to Roman Britain appears to have been extremely rare, and even with new coins being minted under Severus Alexander, they did not make it to Britain, nor Gaul. Thus the Antonine period coins were effectively the last major brass coinage imports. Abdy suggests that from the mid third century AD, these coins were recycled into barbarous radiates. A key indicator of brass sestertii is the presence of zinc, a difficult metal to keep in a brass alloy because at high temperatures zinc vapourises. However most radiate copies contain higher levels of zinc than would be naturally expected. As the creation of orichalcum was beyond the technique of a blacksmith, reused sestertii must have been the metal source and this explains their hoarding in the 3rd century AD. Richard Reece has argued that the sestertii may have been hoarded in a vain hope that they might regain monetary value, but the fact that sestertius hoards are much less common than radiate hoards suggests that owners monetised the former by converting them into the latter. Whereas owners of radiates had no such conversion options. Abdy quotes an inscription as saying "Celatus the bronzesmith fashioned [this bronze statuette of Mars] and gave a pound of bronze made at the cost of 3 denarii". Since 3 denarii is worth 48 asses, and 48 asses probably weigh much more than a Roman pound of bronze, this suggests that base metal coin was worth significantly more than its face value in Britain even during the denarius era. The disparity can only have increased as denarii turned to inflated antoniniani, when the sestertius must have been worth much more as brass than as coin.

Upchurch is situated on a creek of the river Medway, five miles east of Chatham and has the remains of a Roman cemetery. There are also extensive traces of a pottery and large gravel pits abounding with fossils. The hoard was initially published in Archaeologica Cantiana, 1951, and republished in Seaby's coin and medal bulletin, 1989. In any event, this is a very unusual example of a fully intact hoard in its unbroken original container, properly recorded in an archaeological journal and pre-dating the invention of metal detecting.

Whilst writing the above, my attention was kindly drawn to a further reference to this hoard. In "Coins of Roman Britain, volume X", Cathy King reviews the Race Down Farm hoard of bronzes from Bridport, Dorset. She lists in detail 25 similar hoards including this Upchurch hoard. There are a couple of pages discussing the significance of these hoards. Her conclusions are basically that the supply of bronze coins (sestertii, dupondii and asses) to Britain dropped sharply in the late 2nd century but that older coins continued to circulate in many cases into the 3rd century.

Books: Hoards & Archaeology

Important

Professor Buttrey’s work on the Morgantina excavations which established some physical proof regarding the date of the first denarius, is an important reference and is summarised above. Serious students should read further than this web-page, and become familiar with the Mesagne hoard and its conclusions as reported by Hersh and Walker. These provide a fundamental re-ordering of the coins of the 70s-50sBC. So, find a copy of ANS museum notes 1984, which is readily available. The refinements proposed by W. Hollstein and HB Mattingly can also be found in their books (the former in German), see the Period-specific Studies section.

The Mesagne Hoard, Charles Hersh and Alan Walker, ANS Museum Notes 1984

The original publication of the hoard, providing an inarguable separation of pre-Mesagne and post-Mesagne coins although there has been much subsequent discussion of arrangements within these sets.

The Mesagne hoard and the coinage of the late Republic, HB Mattingly, NC 1995

Further refinements on Hersh and Walkers conclusions for the 50s BC. Important, and as with the other HB Mattingly studies listed on this website, can be found in “From Coins to History”

Those with a deeper fascination about archaeology and hoards should obtain at least one primer on hoards and archaeology, of which the following two are my favourites, and RRCH provides a lot of fundamental evidence about which coins have been found where, and with which companions:

Coins and the Archaeologist, John Casey and Richard Reece, 1988.
Understanding Ancient Coins, an Introduction for Archaeologists and Historians, John Casey 1986

Either of these two books is an appropriate starting point for a proper understanding of coins and archaeology. The first is a set of papers on the interpretation of coin finds (in England, though relevant to all eras), the second is a much shorter introductory book covering the same ground, a good foundation work.

Crawford Michael Editing Title: Sources for Ancient History

Archaeological techniques with a chapter on the numismatic method.

Roman Republican Coin Hoards, Michael Crawford, 1970

Listing of the hoards used in the preparation of RRC. Whilst RRC contains a type count of the Republican denarii in each hoard which is more information than in RRCH, RRCH is still very useful to get the context of foreign coins, other objects and find conditions. You can read RRCH chronologically and it actually makes sense as a picture of how the coinage evolved so long as you are aware that the hoard contents guide the proposed dating, rather than the dating guiding the arrangement. There are three excellent plates all picturing early silver with symbols, which types are rare and often not illustrated in catalogues.

Excavations at Cosa, in Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome Volume XXXIV, 1980

Much of this consists of Ted Buttrey's catalogue and analysis of the Republican coins found there. Hard to find. It is useful not for the general site finds but for two other essays. One, on the coins of Cosa itself show that the earliest Cosa bronzes were modelled on Crawford 13/1 Mars/horsehead didrachm and have anomolous weights. A slightly later set of bronzes are modelled exactly on Crawford 17 types and weight standards. Cosa was founded in 273BC so that places Cr13 prior to and Cr17 after that date. Further consideration of Crawford 17 find patterns shows them clustered around Rome and thus likely associated with the coinage of Rome from 269BC, ie together with Crawford 20 wolf and twins didrachm, and not of Campania. The second important essay is on a find of two thousand denarii at Cosa, most in EF or better but dated over a 30 year time period closing about 72BC. So the hoard was apparently laid down over time from better available denarii. A curious feature is that some plated coins in the hoard leached copper oxides over their adjacent coins only, thereby revealing that the coins were laid down in bunches of uncirculated new coins of the same types at various times over 30 years. As they were all fresh mint product this strongly suggests the hoarder was a state contractor, who supplied regularly to the state, perhaps produce, and always received new coin from which he would store the excess. Another model tale of numismatic method from Professor Buttrey.

Useful

Roman Coins and Archaeology collected papers, Richard Reece, Moneta 32, 2003; The coinage of Roman Britain, Richard Reece, 2002

Although Reece’s work is based mainly on English excavations and hence on Roman Imperial coinages, the numismatic and archaeological techniques are relevant to all eras. He has developed many novel concepts, for example that small bronze finds often come from discards in periods of demonetisation and/or low commercial activity, rather than being losses in a busy commercial environment.

A Tri-denominational Hoard of Early Roman Coins from Sicily, Charles Hersh, ANS Notes 21 1976,
A quinarius hoard from southern Italy, Charles Hersh, Numismatic Chronicle 1972

These two studies provide additional evidence on the early denarius.

An Inventory of Greek Coin Hoards, Margaret Thompson, Otto Morkholm, Colin Kraay

Inexpensive and interesting to browse to see where Roman coins mixed into Greek coin hoards. For nerds.

Coin Hoards, Sydney Noe, ANS NNM 1920

Sometimes the smallest books can contain the essence of wisdom, this is about what we can learn from hoards, and still entirely valid nearly a century later. It is available online from Digital Library NUMIS.

A hoard of Republican asses from Rome, T.V. Buttrey, Numismatic Chronicle 1973

Well-reported Republican bronze hoards are very rare. This reports on a hoard of 72 Asses found in the Janiculum in rome in 1960. It reports for the first time on the anonymous 197/198B series with the value mark before the prow and seems to have been deposited late 2nd century BC. It can be compared with Table IX in Roman Republican coins which publishes six hoards of Asses.

Not Useful

Numismatic Archaeology, K. A. Sheedy and Ch. Papageorgiadou-Banis

There are much better books listed above that cover the same ground as this.

Coins and Archaeology, Lloyd Laing, London 1969

Riddled with basic numismatic errors. Valuable as a source of amusement if nothing else. There is a tendency to make straightforward statements of facts that are not established facts, for example "during the life of a single obverse die three reverse dies at least would have been used" or "There was six different systems of putting sequence marks on Republican coins and these systems are related to each other chronologically. One can use the sequence marks to arrange the coins within each series into chronological order". There are no sources or evidence quoted for such gems ("three reverse dies at least???") and after a while one wonders what is fact and what is his own supposition. Still, he loves the subject and that shines through the text even if much of it is indeed supposition.

I am curious when I see it offered for sale on the internet as to what the buyer will make of it.