Hoard storiesBy Tom Buijtendorp Coin hoards tell an interesting story about the development of ancient coinage. Even when the find spot is unknown, the coins still provide useful information, as some hoard coins from the trade illustrate. When sold via internet interesting details and photos are available. And some dealers more and more describe the hoards as group, especially hoards from the Hoard descriptions Descriptions of hoards in many cases try to reconstruct how a hoard was composed before being buried, and what the reason for the burial was. Reasons for burial can be the classical hoarding for long term saving. It can however also be an emergency burial to get the money away from sudden violence. Or there can be an accident like a fire or the loss of for example a purse. The way hoards have been composed before burial may differ as well. In so called circulation hoards, the coins have been taken from coin circulation in a brief period of time like the content of a lost purse, or the repayment of a loan. It can also be an accumulated hoard saved step by step, for example. This kind of categorizations in many cases oversimplifies the background of hoards. There are for example composite hoards like a combination of a purse recently added to a savings hoard. And somebody may have received a salary paid from a savings hoard and carry it in a purse. As long as these potential complications are clear, it still helps to understand the different possible compositions of coin hoards. In this article, examples from the trade will be discussed. The overview starts with some hoards with more information about their burial circumstances. Then other hoards will be discussed in chronological order to illustrate the historical importance. Some hoards are described in some more detail in the Numiswiki articles listed at the end of this article. Deposition
Fig 1. Aureus of Tiberius (14-37 CE) of the Boscoreale hoard with the characteristic deep reddish toning, minted in the last years of his reign in
Fig. 2 Denarius of Hadrianus (117 – 138 CE) of the Forum Fire Hoard with a wavy fire damaged, bent flan. Minted 134-138 CE in
Fig. 3. Two denarii of Elagabalus (218-222 CE) and one Severus Alexander(222-235 CE), uncleaned as found in a sealed container with green patina. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins nr. LT36716. Regarding deposition circumstances, the Boscoreale hoard is a famous example. The hoard of more then thousand golden aureii was discovered in 1895 in a villa close to Hoards tell the story
Fig 4. The latest coin of Antiochus XII (87-84 BCE) of the Galilee hoard, a bronze hemichalkon minted in Political unrest is an important reason for the existence of coin hoards. At the first place, it is an extra reason to burry the coins. And in addition, the owner may get killed and as a result not being able to recollect the hoard. For the same reason, a lost purse will not be searched after by the owner. A possible example is the
Fig 5. A sample of 21 lead tesserae of Alexander Janneus (103-76 BCE) of a somewhat larger hoard of more then thirty of such coins (check). All of Hendin type 1155. Obverse text BASILEWS ALEXANDROU (of King Alexander), anchor upside-down inside circle; reverse Aramaic inscription, King Alexander, border of dots. In most cases, the reverse is fully worn. Offered by Forum Ancient Coins nr. JD11176 (see also LT36982, LT3567?) The Jewish leader Alexander Janneus (103-76 BCE) mentioned above, minted around 80 BCE rare lead tokens (tesserae). They were issued to the poor to be redeemed for food and other commodities, mirroring the Roman distribution system. Alexander in this way hoped to gain support in his political struggle. These tesserae were for a long time very rare and not very well known. Thanks to some recent hoards, the knowledge of this interesting items has improved. Some have a dessert patina as the example shown of a group of lead tesserae from the same source (fig 5). The obverse shows in a circle an anchor upside down as hanging on the side of a boat, with around in Greek the legend BASILEWS ALEXANDROU (Basileus Alexandrou = of King Alexander). The anchor became an important symbol after Alexander Janneus conquered some of the coastal cities. The reverse, in many cases blank now, originally contained the Aramic text ‘King Alexander’ in three lines.
Fig 6. A group of 60 widow mites with a common shining green, pickled patina indicating the provenance of the same hoard. Introduced by Alexander Janneus around 78 BCE. Obverse star of eight rays surrounded by diadem, crude barbaric style; reverse BASILEWS ALEXANDROU (barbaric and blundered), anchor upside-down in circle. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT56705.
In the same period, around 78 BCE, Alexander Janneus (103 – 76 BCE) started in
Fig 7. A Group of 20 Republican denarii, all of the common type with a bust on the obverse and a car with horses on the reverse, and the name of the moneyer, in this case for example D. Unius Silanus (D. SILANVS), C. Licinius LF Macer (C. LICINIVS LF MACER) and twice M. Lucilis Rufus (M. LVCILI RVF). In some cases ROMA below. This type was minted until 41 BCE. The three moneyers mentioned worked between 101 and 84 BCE. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins nr. LT54755.
Fig. 8. A local imitation of a denarius of Tiberius from a coin hoard form The bronze coin hoards were of much lower value then most of the Republican silver hoards of denarii (fig 7). These silver hoards are very important for the dating of the moneyers who worked in specific years. For the hoard coins shown in fig 7 for example, moneyer Lucilius worked in 101 BCE, Silanus in 91 BCE and Licinius Macer in 84 BCE. Thanks to hoard evidence, combined with sequences deducted from overstrikes, it is possible to date the introduction of the denarius to around 211 BCE. During the first century BCE, the denarius was the main high value hoard coin. Sulla introduced the golden aureus around 85 BCE, but only Caesar started to mint some larger volumes. The denarius was also used for long distance trade, even outside the empire. An interesting example is a coin hoard from
Fig 9. A hoard of 40 Greek-Illyrian drachms of the Adriatic coast, probably buried around 60-48 CE in the Balkan. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT24268.
Fig 10. Four obverses of the hoard of fig. 9, all showing the cow suckling a calf facing to the left as minted in Apollonia. Above the cow names: NIKWN (Nikoon), MAARKOS (Maarkos), NIKHN (Niken), TIMHN (Timen). Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT24268.
Fig. 11. Two reverses of the hoard of fig 9. One coin with the abbreviation APOL (Apol) of the city name Apollonia, followed by the name of a person Autoboulou: APOL - AUTO-BOU-LOU. The other reverse only shows part of the personal name. Double stellate pattern within double linear square with sides curved inwards. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT24268.
The denarius was not the only silver hoard coin at this time. In the Balkan, for example, the Greek-Illyrian drachms of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium played an important role from the end of the third century BCE until the middle of the first century BCE during a period of about 160 years. Recent studies of coin hoards have largely increased the knowledge of these drachms. They were minted by two Adriatic coastal cities: Dyrrhacium in
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Fig. 12 Lot of 81 small bronze coins, part of a hoard found at Another interesting coin hoard was found on the isle of
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the laureate head of Zeus to the right, and a reverse with Zeus Salaminos standing, holding a grain ear and a torch, with a star above. Kreuzer has suggested that the bust of
Fig. 13 Six coins of the Another important moment for the burial of coin hoards is the unrest during the 60s of the first century CE. Already in 66 CE the Jewish revolt started and continued until 73 CE. And in 68 CE Nero was forced to commit suicide. After, four emperors reigned in about one year. The Jewish War resulted in many local coin hoards. Possibly the Temple Tax Hoard was buried during this period (fig 13). This hoard consisted of 92 silver half shekels and 3 full shekels and has been described in a separate Numiswiki article by Marian and Sermarini. Although the youngest dated coin was minted in 55/57 CE, it is very well possible that the hoard was buried during the Jewish War about ten years later. Dated coins of the last decade are very rare and most coins of the hoard are worn, also the youngest dated one. As the half shekel was used to pay the temple tax, the hoard may be related to the annual payment of the temple tax.
Fig 14. Eight cleaned billion tetradrachms of Nero (54-68 CE) of a hoard, minted in
Fig 15. Seventeen billion tetradrachms of Nero (54-68 CE) of a hoard, all minted in the peak year 12 (65/66 CE) minted in
| Hoard storiesBy Tom Buijtendorp Coin hoards tell an interesting story about the development of ancient coinage. Even when the find spot is unknown, the coins still provide useful information, as some hoard coins from the trade illustrate. When sold via internet interesting details and photos are available. And some dealers more and more describe the hoards as group, especially hoards from the Hoard descriptions Descriptions of hoards in many cases try to reconstruct how a hoard was composed before being buried, and what the reason for the burial was. Reasons for burial can be the classical hoarding for long term saving. It can however also be an emergency burial to get the money away from sudden violence. Or there can be an accident like a fire or the loss of for example a purse. The way hoards have been composed before burial may differ as well. In so called circulation hoards, the coins have been taken from coin circulation in a brief period of time like the content of a lost purse, or the repayment of a loan. It can also be an accumulated hoard saved step by step, for example. This kind of categorizations in many cases oversimplifies the background of hoards. There are for example composite hoards like a combination of a purse recently added to a savings hoard. And somebody may have received a salary paid from a savings hoard and carry it in a purse. As long as these potential complications are clear, it still helps to understand the different possible compositions of coin hoards. In this article, examples from the trade will be discussed. The overview starts with some hoards with more information about their burial circumstances. Then other hoards will be discussed in chronological order to illustrate the historical importance. Some hoards are described in some more detail in the Numiswiki articles listed at the end of this article. Deposition
Fig 1. Aureus of Tiberius (14-37 CE) of the Boscoreale hoard with the characteristic deep reddish toning, minted in the last years of his reign in
Fig. 2 Denarius of Hadrianus (117 – 138 CE) of the Forum Fire Hoard with a wavy fire damaged, bent flan. Minted 134-138 CE in
Fig. 3. Two denarii of Elagabalus (218-222 CE) and one Severus Alexander(222-235 CE), uncleaned as found in a sealed container with green patina. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins nr. LT36716. Regarding deposition circumstances, the Boscoreale hoard is a famous example. The hoard of more then thousand golden aureii was discovered in 1895 in a villa close to Hoards tell the story
Fig 4. The latest coin of Antiochus XII (87-84 BCE) of the Galilee hoard, a bronze hemichalkon minted in Political unrest is an important reason for the existence of coin hoards. At the first place, it is an extra reason to burry the coins. And in addition, the owner may get killed and as a result not being able to recollect the hoard. For the same reason, a lost purse will not be searched after by the owner. A possible example is the
Fig 5. A sample of 21 lead tesserae of Alexander Janneus (103-76 BCE) of a somewhat larger hoard of more then thirty of such coins (check). All of Hendin type 1155. Obverse text BASILEWS ALEXANDROU (of King Alexander), anchor upside-down inside circle; reverse Aramaic inscription, King Alexander, border of dots. In most cases, the reverse is fully worn. Offered by Forum Ancient Coins nr. JD11176 (see also LT36982, LT3567?) The Jewish leader Alexander Janneus (103-76 BCE) mentioned above, minted around 80 BCE rare lead tokens (tesserae). They were issued to the poor to be redeemed for food and other commodities, mirroring the Roman distribution system. Alexander in this way hoped to gain support in his political struggle. These tesserae were for a long time very rare and not very well known. Thanks to some recent hoards, the knowledge of this interesting items has improved. Some have a dessert patina as the example shown of a group of lead tesserae from the same source (fig 5). The obverse shows in a circle an anchor upside down as hanging on the side of a boat, with around in Greek the legend BASILEWS ALEXANDROU (Basileus Alexandrou = of King Alexander). The anchor became an important symbol after Alexander Janneus conquered some of the coastal cities. The reverse, in many cases blank now, originally contained the Aramic text ‘King Alexander’ in three lines.
Fig 6. A group of 60 widow mites with a common shining green, pickled patina indicating the provenance of the same hoard. Introduced by Alexander Janneus around 78 BCE. Obverse star of eight rays surrounded by diadem, crude barbaric style; reverse BASILEWS ALEXANDROU (barbaric and blundered), anchor upside-down in circle. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT56705.
In the same period, around 78 BCE, Alexander Janneus (103 – 76 BCE) started in
Fig 7. A Group of 20 Republican denarii, all of the common type with a bust on the obverse and a car with horses on the reverse, and the name of the moneyer, in this case for example D. Unius Silanus (D. SILANVS), C. Licinius LF Macer (C. LICINIVS LF MACER) and twice M. Lucilis Rufus (M. LVCILI RVF). In some cases ROMA below. This type was minted until 41 BCE. The three moneyers mentioned worked between 101 and 84 BCE. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins nr. LT54755.
Fig. 8. A local imitation of a denarius of Tiberius from a coin hoard form The bronze coin hoards were of much lower value then most of the Republican silver hoards of denarii (fig 7). These silver hoards are very important for the dating of the moneyers who worked in specific years. For the hoard coins shown in fig 7 for example, moneyer Lucilius worked in 101 BCE, Silanus in 91 BCE and Licinius Macer in 84 BCE. Thanks to hoard evidence, combined with sequences deducted from overstrikes, it is possible to date the introduction of the denarius to around 211 BCE. During the first century BCE, the denarius was the main high value hoard coin. Sulla introduced the golden aureus around 85 BCE, but only Caesar started to mint some larger volumes. The denarius was also used for long distance trade, even outside the empire. An interesting example is a coin hoard from
Fig 9. A hoard of 40 Greek-Illyrian drachms of the Adriatic coast, probably buried around 60-48 CE in the Balkan. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT24268.
Fig 10. Four obverses of the hoard of fig. 9, all showing the cow suckling a calf facing to the left as minted in Apollonia. Above the cow names: NIKWN (Nikoon), MAARKOS (Maarkos), NIKHN (Niken), TIMHN (Timen). Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT24268.
Fig. 11. Two reverses of the hoard of fig 9. One coin with the abbreviation APOL (Apol) of the city name Apollonia, followed by the name of a person Autoboulou: APOL - AUTO-BOU-LOU. The other reverse only shows part of the personal name. Double stellate pattern within double linear square with sides curved inwards. Sold by Forum Ancient Coins lot nr. LT24268.
The denarius was not the only silver hoard coin at this time. In the Balkan, for example, the Greek-Illyrian drachms of Apollonia and Dyrrhachium played an important role from the end of the third century BCE until the middle of the first century BCE during a period of about 160 years. Recent studies of coin hoards have largely increased the knowledge of these drachms. They were minted by two Adriatic coastal cities: Dyrrhacium in
CHECK
Fig. 12 Lot of 81 small bronze coins, part of a hoard found at Another interesting coin hoard was found on the isle of
CHECK
the laureate head of Zeus to the right, and a reverse with Zeus Salaminos standing, holding a grain ear and a torch, with a star above. Kreuzer has suggested that the bust of
Fig. 13 Six coins of the Another important moment for the burial of coin hoards is the unrest during the 60s of the first century CE. Already in 66 CE the Jewish revolt started and continued until 73 CE. And in 68 CE Nero was forced to commit suicide. After, four emperors reigned in about one year. The Jewish War resulted in many local coin hoards. Possibly the Temple Tax Hoard was buried during this period (fig 13). This hoard consisted of 92 silver half shekels and 3 full shekels and has been described in a separate Numiswiki article by Marian and Sermarini. Although the youngest dated coin was minted in 55/57 CE, it is very well possible that the hoard was buried during the Jewish War about ten years later. Dated coins of the last decade are very rare and most coins of the hoard are worn, also the youngest dated one. As the half shekel was used to pay the temple tax, the hoard may be related to the annual payment of the temple tax.
Fig 14. Eight cleaned billion tetradrachms of Nero (54-68 CE) of a hoard, minted in
Fig 15. Seventeen billion tetradrachms of Nero (54-68 CE) of a hoard, all minted in the peak year 12 (65/66 CE) minted in
Fig 16. Ten tetradrachms of Nero (54-68 CE) of a hoard with coins from Claudius to Vespasian (45-70 CE), these ten coins all minted in year 11 (64/65 CE) in
The Civil War after the dead of Nero in June 68 CE impacted large parts of the empire, also at places where no direct fights occurred. An example is Roman Egypt, a province which from numismatic perspective acted almost as an autonomous monetary region, a closed currency system. The tetradrachms minted in
Fig 17. Group of eleven Flavian bronze coins countermarked with the letter B and the letters TOM. The last combination is interpreted as the abbreviation of Tomis, the Roman city at In the next decades, fights related to the extension of the
Fig 18 Two worn denarii minted in 41 BCE, from the
Fig 19 Four Republican misstrikes (brockages), from the
Fig 20 A denarius of Domitian (81-96 CE) minted in 82 CE in the period he tried to revive the old standard with heavier, purer and well struck denarii, like this one from the In the early second century CE the local leader Decebalus (87 – 106 CE) started a war against the Romans. In 101-102 CE he was defeated during the first Dacian War, but recovered and launched a second attack in 105 CE. This time he was finally defeated in the summer of 106 CE. In the aftermath of the Second Dacian War, large sums of money had to be paid to
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