Roman silver hoard 2018 page

Potential Treasure case 2018 T451 - Multiple finders- 44 Roman silver hoard

Currently with the FLO at Colchester Musuem going through the Treasure Process.

Initial discovery by Mo Dan

Comments and ID's of the coins by Mark Lehman

Mo Dan's discovers the hoard with the first 6 Roman silvers - checking the area with a hoard hunter

Dc Nick pops 4 silvers with his CTX

One of Louisiana Sal's 5 Roman silvers in the side wall of the hole 11 inches down

One of Louisiana Sal's 5 Roman silvers poking out of a clod of dirt

15 Romans on a tray

Another great Roman silver

Searching for more

Ga Buddy found 3

Ashley (in the hole) and Tx Scott digging a trench to try and find more

Hoard 1 - 3.17g, 17mm

Faustina the elder, wife of Antoninus Pius and mother of Faustina the younger. Posthumous issue by Antoninus pius, Faustina died 141 so it dates between 141-160. Reverse is too profoundly encrusted to determine type, although it might have the legend AVGVSTA (if so, the photo is upside-down) otherwise, it’s a legend ending in “AVG” and could be any of literally dozens of types.

Hoard 2 – 2.89g,18mm

Trajan, 96-117, Mars advancing left carrying trophy and holding spear. Not enough of the reverse legend is clear to date it accurately, but the reverse reads something like this: P M TR P (xxx) COS (x VI) P P  S P Q R – This seems to be the only piece which does not date to the Severan era in this batch.

Hoard 3 - 3.46g, 17mm

Posthumous issue for Faustina the younger by her husband Marcus Aurelius – Faustina II died in 175 and M. Aurelius outlived her until 181 – so that’s the time frame, 175-181. Again, the reverse is so profoundly encrusted that it’s not possible to determine the reverse type

Hoard 4 – 2.48g,15mm

Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus and mother of Caracalla (and Geta) so her coins’ time frame is 193-217. Obverse: [IVLIA] AVGVSTA. The reverse is IVNO [REGI]NA Juno standing left with peacock at her feet. This type was issued at both Rome and Laodicea (in the mid east) they can only be told apart by style – this appears to be a Rome mint product.

Hoard 5 – 3.28g,18mm

. (young) Caracalla ANTONINVS PIVS AVG / FELICITAS AVGG. Felicitas standing left holding caduceus and cornucopiae  (the 2 G’s indicates two co-Augusti, Caracalla and Septimius) Mint of Rome 205 A.D., RIC 124, RSC 64.  

Roman 2nd/3rdC silver hoard

Mark Lehman's initial ID below with poor quality pictures taken on the guys cell phones. I just sent him larger pictures for better ID.

Okay, the top left (obverses) is Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus – probably issued by Severus, there is another group of coins in her honor struck by Caracalla. This appears to be the fairly common JVNO REGINA, Juno with peacock reverse, but the legend is only partial due to the smallish flan not presenting enough room to strike-up all of the reverse.
Top right is Trajan – I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail about who he was and what he did.
The Trajan has a typical reverse of Mars walking right with spear and carrying trophy – it may be able to be dated fairly closely if I can get a little more detail since it has the typical “laundry list” of offices held and the number of times they had been held. Usually this is enough to place them within a year or two, but some combinations of offices which didn’t renew at the same time of year allow them to be dated within months. It’s quite worn and may be as much as a century earlier than the latest of the other four.
Bottom row left is a posthumous issue for Faustina the Elder – wife of Antoninus pius. The reverse is too obscured by encrustation for me to be able to tell what’s happening, but there seems to be very good remaining detail on this piece in general so when cleaned it should be easy to read and identify.
In the middle is a very youthful portrait of Caracalla with the FELICITAS AVG reverse I noted in the earlier email.
On the right is another posthumous Faustina denarius – given the encrustation I can’t be 100% certain whether this is the Elder or the Younger Faustina – I think it’s the Elder. Like the other Faustina, the reverse is too encrusted to tell what’s gong on there.
Something to keep in mind with these posthumus coins of the Imperial women of the Antonines is they were issued in a couple of different emissions, first under Antoninus Pius and then later by Marcus Aurelius. There are also both lifetime and posthumous coins for both Faustinas. That tends to make it a little complicated, so I would really need to be able to read the legends and see the details a good bit better to say exactly who issued these two and when.
I still look forward to better photos as and if they’re cleaned.
Mark

Hoard 6 - 3.06g, 18mm

Caracalla as Caesar – 195-198. Obverse legend is probably [M AVR ANTON] CAES PONTIF. The reverse is PRINCIPI IVV[ENTVTIS] Caracalla in military garb standing left holding baton and scepter, trophy to his right. Mint of Rome, 197, RIC 13, RSC 505.

Hoard 7 – 3.18g, 18mm

Septimius Severus, 193-212.  [SEVERVS] PIVS AVG / [VICT] PART MAX Victory walking left holding wreath and palm, Mint of Rome, 204.

Hoard 8 - 3.17g, 17mm

.  I think what little of the portrait is visible suggests Antoninus Pius, 139-161 – reverse totally obscured but seems to be a figure (possibly Victory) standing or walking left holding object (wreath?) in outstretched right hand.

Hoard 9 &10 – 6.91g,17mm (one coin dia)

only part of one coin’s obverse is visible, it looks like it may be “[A]NTON[…] indicating probably Caracalla, reverse is two standing figures and legend is too badly obscured to read, but I suspect it’s a duplicate of # 6 and the reverse is PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS.  9b reverse is FELICITAS AVG, Felicitas likely standing left holding caduceus and cornucopiae and obverse is too well covered by 9a to be readable at all. Both pieces are almost certainly from the Severan era since that’s pretty much when all the others are on the time line, except for Trajan, of course, and Antoninus Pius. The Severan era included quite a few individuals, both male and female, between 193-238.

Mark Lehman's initial ID below with poor quality pictures taken on the guys cell phones. I just sent him larger pictures for better ID.

Okay, the top left (obverses) is Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus – probably issued by Severus, there is another group of coins in her honor struck by Caracalla. This appears to be the fairly common JVNO REGINA, Juno with peacock reverse, but the legend is only partial due to the smallish flan not presenting enough room to strike-up all of the reverse.
Top right is Trajan – I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail about who he was and what he did.
The Trajan has a typical reverse of Mars walking right with spear and carrying trophy – it may be able to be dated fairly closely if I can get a little more detail since it has the typical “laundry list” of offices held and the number of times they had been held. Usually this is enough to place them within a year or two, but some combinations of offices which didn’t renew at the same time of year allow them to be dated within months. It’s quite worn and may be as much as a century earlier than the latest of the other four.
Bottom row left is a posthumous issue for Faustina the Elder – wife of Antoninus pius. The reverse is too obscured by encrustation for me to be able to tell what’s happening, but there seems to be very good remaining detail on this piece in general so when cleaned it should be easy to read and identify.
In the middle is a very youthful portrait of Caracalla with the FELICITAS AVG reverse I noted in the earlier email.
On the right is another posthumous Faustina denarius – given the encrustation I can’t be 100% certain whether this is the Elder or the Younger Faustina – I think it’s the Elder. Like the other Faustina, the reverse is too encrusted to tell what’s gong on there.
Something to keep in mind with these posthumus coins of the Imperial women of the Antonines is they were issued in a couple of different emissions, first under Antoninus Pius and then later by Marcus Aurelius. There are also both lifetime and posthumous coins for both Faustinas. That tends to make it a little complicated, so I would really need to be able to read the legends and see the details a good bit better to say exactly who issued these two and when.
I still look forward to better photos as and if they’re cleaned.
Mark

I’ll do what I can to describe and date them on a coin-by-coin basis, but the ones that are totally obscured by deposits and/or corrosion products that weren’t able to be ID’d before are still obscure.
- 1.  Faustina the elder, wife of Antoninus Pius and mother of Faustina the younger. Posthumous issue by Antoninus pius, Faustina died 141 so it dates between 141-160. Reverse is too profoundly encrusted to determine type, although it might have the legend AVGVSTA (if so, the photo is upside-down) otherwise, it’s a legend ending in “AVG” and could be any of literally dozens of types.
- 2. Trajan, 96-117, Mars advancing left carrying trophy and holding spear. Not enough of the reverse legend is clear to date it accurately, but the reverse reads something like this: P M TR P (xxx) COS (x VI) P P  S P Q R – This seems to be the only piece which does not date to the Severan era in this batch.
- 3. Posthumous issue for Faustina the younger by her husband Marcus Aurelius – Faustina II died in 175 and M. Aurelius outlived her until 181 – so that’s the time frame, 175-181. Again, the reverse is so profoundly encrusted that it’s not possible to determine the reverse type.
- 4. Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus and mother of Caracalla (and Geta) so her coins’ time frame is 193-217. Obverse: [IVLIA] AVGVSTA. The reverse is IVNO [REGI]NA Juno standing left with peacock at her feet. This type was issued at both Rome and Laodicea (in the mid east) they can only be told apart by style – this appears to be a Rome mint product.
- 5. (young) Caracalla ANTONINVS PIVS AVG / FELICITAS AVGG. Felicitas standing left holding caduceus and cornucopiae  (the 2 G’s indicates two co-Augusti, Caracalla and Septimius) Mint of Rome 205 A.D., RIC 124, RSC 64.  
- 6. Caracalla as Caesar – 195-198. Obverse legend is probably [M AVR ANTON] CAES PONTIF. The reverse is PRINCIPI IVV[ENTVTIS] Caracalla in military garb standing left holding baton and scepter, trophy to his right. Mint of Rome, 197, RIC 13, RSC 505.
- 7. Septimius Severus, 193-212.  [SEVERVS] PIVS AVG / [VICT] PART MAX Victory walking left holding wreath and palm, Mint of Rome, 204.
- 8.  I think what little of the portrait is visible suggests Antoninus Pius, 139-161 – reverse totally obscured but seems to be a figure (possibly Victory) standing or walking left holding object (wreath?) in outstretched right hand.
- 9a. only part of one coin’s obverse is visible, it looks like it may be “[A]NTON[…] indicating probably Caracalla, reverse is two standing figures and legend is too badly obscured to read, but I suspect it’s a duplicate of # 6 and the reverse is PRINCIPI IVVENTVTIS.  9b reverse is FELICITAS AVG, Felicitas likely standing left holding caduceus and cornucopiae and obverse is too well covered by 9a to be readable at all. Both pieces are almost certainly from the Severan era since that’s pretty much when all the others are on the time line, except for Trajan, of course, and Antoninus Pius. The Severan era included quite a few individuals, both male and female, between 193-238.
That’s about all I can do with these photos, I hope it’s enough for you.
Mark

Hoard 11 – 2.67g, 19mm

Your photo of the reverse is upside-down – the legend is VOTA PVBLICA – who’s on the obverse is a bit more challenging question, although it looks like one of the youthful Severans.
More books cracked: Geta, Caesar ( 198-209) [GETA CAES] PONT COS youthful bare-headed and draped bust of Geta Caesar, right, seen from behind. VOTA PVBLICA, Geta, togate standing left sacrificing over tripod altar. Struck 205, RIC 38b; RSC 230

Hoard 12– 3.07g, 20mm

. Julia Domna, wife of Septimius Severus (193-217) IV[LIA] AVGVSTA draped bust right / HILARITAS Hilaritas standing left holding palm-branch and cornucopiae, Caracalla and Geta as children to her left and right. Struck 208, RIC 557; RSC 79

Hoard 13- 2.70g, 19mm

Vespasian (69-79) [IMP C]AESAR VESPASIANV[S AVG] (counter-clockwise) laureate head of Vespasian right / TR POT X COS VIII naked radiate figure standing facing atop rostral column, struck 79.  RIC (119 old vol II)- 1064-5; RSC 559. It should be obvious that this does nt belong to the same hoard/loss as all the similarly encrusted Antonine and Severan denarii from up to a century and a half later.

Hoard 14 – 3.28g,19mm

Septimius Severus (193-211) SEVERVS AVG [PART MAX?] laureate head right / [VICT AETERN?] Victory hovering left holding garland above shield set on base. Struck 200, RIC 170; RSC 670.
There are a couple of different legends found with this reverse type, I believe Vict Aetern is the most likely.
Mark

Just sent Roman silver hoard coins 11 to 14 off to Mark Lehman for ID

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.80g, 19.10mm Casey

Hoard coin 15 – silver denarius
Issuer unable to be determined specifically, but appears to be a younger person, therefore most likely one of the younger Severans and during a time with two Augusti (AVGG in reverse legend) so likely to be a young Caracalla or Geta as Augustus – Note: on basis of # 16, this more likely to be Plautilla, to whom Caracalla was briefly married, 202-205.
Reverse:  CO[NCOR]DIA AVGG Concordia standing left holding patera and scepter.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.82g,14.65mm Sal4

Hoard coin 16 – probably a match for coin # 15, both have the same reverse type and the portrait clearly appears female here, so probably Plautilla, Caracalla’s wife 202-205 AD.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.59g,18.02mm Sal2

Hoard coin 17 – Septimius Severus, 193-212 AD.
Obv: SEVERVS PIVS AVG laureate head of Severus right
Rx: FVNDATOR PACIS (“creator of peace” referring to Severus) Pax standing left holding olive-branch (and, probably, a cornucopiae, obscured by encrustation)

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

3.33g,19.23mm Sal 1

Hoard coin 18 – Domitian, 81-96 AD.
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT GERM P M TR P VIIII (= 90 AD.) laureate head of Domitian right.
Rx: IMP XXI COS XV CENS P P P Minerva standing left holding spear, left hand on hip

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.82g,14.65mm Sal3

Hoard coin 19 – Antoninus Pius, 139-161 [IMP T] AEL CAES [HA]DR ANTONINVS laureate head of Antninus Pius right
Rx: [A]VG PIVS P [M T]R P COS II // [P P] simpulum, lituus, jug, aspergillum and knife (not in that order) the priestly impedimentia 139 AD

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

3.12g, 19mm Nick

Hoard coin 20 – Commodus, 177-192
Obv: (probably…) [M] COMM [ANT P FEL AVG BRIT] laureate had of Commodus right
Rx: P M TR P [XI?] IMP VII COS V P [P] // FO[R] R[ED] Fortuna Redux enthroned left holding rudder on small globe and cornucopiae; wheel beneath seat - 186 AD.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.37g,19mm Nick1

Hoard coin 21 – Sorry, there are limits to what I can accurately ID from photos – re-orientation is conjectural at best – there simply isn’t enough here to distinguish this from any other badly chipped and heavily encrusted denarius, although given the rest of this hoard, the Severan era is most likely for a date (193-238 AD.)

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.55g,17mm Nick3

Hoard coin 22 – Posthumous commemorative issue by Antoninus Pius for his wife, Faustina Sr. (died ~ 140 AD)
Obv: DIVA [FAVS]TINA draped bust of Faustina Senior right
Rx: [AETER]-NITAS – reverse too obscured with encrustation to tell which of the two dozen or so scenes which were paired with AETERNITAS legend it is – although it might be “Providentia standing left holding globe and grasping veil which billows out behind her”. After 147 (and before 161) AD.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

17mm,3,50mm Nick2

Hoard coin 23 – probably Julia Domna (195-217) wife of Septimius Severus – however there were quite a number of Julias who had denarii struck in their names during the Severan era
Obv: IVLIA AVGV[STA] draped bust of Domna (?) right
Rx: sorry – not enough legible legend or device-detail here to say with certainty what the reverse type was supposed to be, but the couple of letters on the left could be “FELI” of FELICITAS (a common reverse type for her). Felicitas generally stands left holding a caduceus and cornucopiae, but none of the device is legible at this point. If so, ca. 206 AD.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.61g,18mm Fl Paul

Hoard coin # 24
Apparently Julia Domna – (194-217)
Obv: IVL[IA] AVGVSTA draped but of Julia Domna right           
Rx: MATE[R DEV]M Cybele enthroned left, flanked by two lions, holding oliove-branch and resting elbow on drum – 198 AD.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.60g,19mm Buddy

Hoard coin # 25
Septimius Severus, (196-212)
Obv: SEVERVS [PI]VS [AVG] laureate head of Septimius Severus right
RESTITVTO[R VR]BIS Roma seated left holding Palladium and scepter, shield at side, 207 AD

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

3.05g,16mm Wendell

Hoard coin # 26
Lucius Verus, co-emperor with Marcusa Aurelius, 161-169 AD
Obv: L VERVS AVG ARMENIACVS bare head of Lucius Verus right
Rx: [TR P IIII] IMP II COS II Mars standing facing, head right resting on spear and shield, 164 AD.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

3.23g,17mm Bobby

Hoard coin # 27
Septimius Severus, 193-217 AAD.
Obv: SEVERVS [PIVS AVG] laureate head of Septimius Severus right
Rx: VOTA SVS-[CEPTA] XX Severus, togate, standing left, sacrificing over small tripod altar and holding scroll. 207 AD.

2 Roman silver hoard coin stuck together - reported to museum and sent for ID

6.50g,19mm Buddy

Hoard coins # 28 & 29
You sent only photos of the obverses, without photos of the reverses I can’t tell you very much –
28 might be Marcus Aurelius […]ER M A(NT?)[…] but too little of the obverse legend is legible to be sure without a reverse to pair it with – might be Antoninus Pius, too – the profile of the portrait is also obscured
Another possibility is Domitian, 79- 96, who often had “GERM” or “GERMANICVS” in the middle of his titles
29 is Septimius Severus (196-217) – SEVERVS PIVS AVG laureate head of Septimius Severus right – can’t say any more without seeing the reverse.

Roman silver hoard coin - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.35g,20.0mm Ron

Hoard Coin # 30
Hadrian, 117-138 AD.
Obverse HADR[IANVS] AVGVSTVS laureate head of Hadrian right      
Rx: COS I[II] might be Genius (of the Roman People) standing left sacrificing from patera over small altar (off-flan) and holding cornucopiae – if so, it’s ca. 127 AD.
The thing with this one is that the very simple “COS III” reverse legend was paired with literally dozens of reverse types and with so much of the flan missing, all I can do is guess based on what is more or less visible.

Roman silver hoard coin No 31 - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.77g,17mm

This one required me to take a leap of faith to interpret the reverse – I can’t unconditionally guarantee this ID, so what may be found under the crud could be significantly different - I am working mainly on the basis of the 5 legible letters at the end of the legend and virtually nothing else. It is, (of course) Caracalla as a very young Augustus once again; coin is ca. 202 AD. That fits-in well with the dating of most of the other silver hoard coins which tend to be from the earlier Severan era. Those significantly older are as worn as one would expect some of them to be – as in the case of the Domitian denarii that are at least as a century earlier than the bulk of the denarii seen so far.
On another front, I don’t think the Æ coins you are finding in the same field have anything at all to do with this hoard, being from over a century later.
Obv:  ANTONINVS PIVS AVG laureate and draped young-head bust of Caracalla right, seen from behind
Rx: [PART MAX PON TR]P V COS two bound captives in an attitude of mourning seated back to back at foot of trophy
I believe the central device on the reverse of hoard coin 31i s very similar to the reverse of this sestertius of Septimius Severus – and part of the same overall emission of coin:

Mark

Roman silver hoard coin No 32 - reported to museum and sent for ID

19mm,3.63g

This one (# 32) wanted to give me a hard time. It wasn’t until I realized this was a fully encrusted silver denarius and not an  Æ semis or quadrans that I was able to get a clue who we have here. As it turns out, it’s Domitian, again – dates to 89 AD.
These legends are a bit provisional, but they seem to fit with what can be seen in the photos.
Obv: [IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GER]M P M TR P VIII laureate head of Domitian right
Rx: IMP XIX COS XIIII CENS P P P Minerva standing left holding thunderbolt and resting on scepter

It raises questions (for me) as to its connection to the rest of the “hoard” find because although it would not be the earliest piece by any great margin, none of the others are anywhere nearly so profoundly dirt/sand encrusted.
Mark

Roman silver hoard coin 33- reported to museum and sent for ID

17mm,3.22g

Roman silver hoard coin 34 - reported to museum and sent for ID

3.00g, 20.0mm

Hoard coin # 33:
Lucius Verus, 161-169 AD. AR denarius
Obv:  IMP L AVREL VERVS AVG bare head of Verus right, Mint of Rome 161/2 AD.
Rx: PROV DEOR TR P COS II Providentia standing facing, head left, holding globe and cornucopiae

Hoard coin 34:
AR denarius, issuer uncertain (obverse too profoundly encrusted to make out any detail)
Obv: ?? (Maybe Julia Domna, 195-217 AD? She issued this type of Hilaritas reverse at Rome in 208 AD)
Rx: HILARITAS Hilaritas standing facing, head left, holding long palm-branch; two naked infants/erotes standing facing, to either side of Hilaritas; one holds bottom of palm-branch, the other clings to Hilaritas’ leg.
Mint of Rome, time of the Antonines (mid 2nd century AD) or early Severans (early 3rd century AD.)
Although Hilaritas is not completely unknown on coins of male Imperials, she is far more commonly seen on the women’s coins.  Unfortunately, at this time, I cannot say even whether the obverse portrays a male or female Imperial personage. However, if I were a betting man, I’d say it is most likely to be a lifetime issue of Faustina Jr., Lucilla or Crispina – could be later, too – there are plenty of Severans who also used this reverse.
… a bit later:
Looking through listings in Sear RC&TV, I find that a Hilaritas with two naked infants is known for Julia Domna – this doesn’t mean it HAS to be she, but unless I spend an unreasonably long time looking through endless listings of denarii in RIC or RSC, I wouldn’t be able to rule out the possibility it’s someone else. it’s a pretty good bet – given the dating of most of the AR in this hoard so far – that Domna will turn out to be the person portrayed. If it is Domna, the two “infants” pictured probably represent Caracalla and Geta, although they were considerably older than “infants” at the time. I don’t know if there were any other children born to Septimius Severus and Domna – if so, these might be younger siblings of the feuding Imperial brothers.
Mark

Roman silver hoard coin No35 - sent for ID and reported as hoard addendum to museum

18mm, 3.11g

Well, I can’t 100% accurately date it since the part which determines the date is obscured on the obverse (TR P year number at end of obverse legend) but this same type of denarius was struck for M. Aurelius as Augustus from 168-171, the only change being the TR P number on the obverse:
M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXIII (-XXV)
if it’s XXIII = 168/9 AD. = RIC III 198
If it’s  XXIIII = 169/70 AD. = RIC III 211, or
If it’s XXV = 170/1 AD = RIC III 230
Luckily the reverse is clear enough to be certain of the type and consular number (COS III). As for the obverse, it’s too encrusted to make out any legend and only part of the portrait is clear, but it looks sufficiently like Marcus Aurelius and little enough like anyone else using this reverse type to feel confident attributing the “Minerva right, brandishing spear and holding shield” to him – it was one of the “stock” types generally associated with him.
I don’t have an exact copy to show you, but this is a somewhat earlier M. Aurelius denarius, struck in 158/9 AD. when he was Caesar under Antoninus Pius - and has the same sort of “stock” Minerva reverse:

http://www.stoa.org/gallery/album94/ML01_M_Aurel_Caes_Minerva_den?full=1
Keep diggin’ those hoard coins – what is this, 35 so far in that clutch of silver from mid 2nd - mid 3rd centuries?
Imagine what a find it would have been if these had not been scattered by the plow and were all still in a group in a jug or soil-cast of a pouch – I  wonder how many there were originally.
Mark

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No36 - reported to museum

2.81g,17mm

That seems to be from the earlier range of the coins in the hoard I helped you with ID’s on last year.
Antoninus Pius, 138-161
AR Denarius, Mint of Rome, A.D. 159/60 (dated)
Obv: ANTONINVS AVG PIVS P P TR P XXIII laureate head of Antoninus Pius right   
Rx: FELIC SAEC COS III Felicitas standing left, holding caduceus and leaning on column.

Mint Roman silver hoard coin addendum No37 - reported to museum

3.23, 17mm

Super Lucilla – that’s the way you’d like to see them come out of the ground, no doubt. This one’s so nice I don’t need to scare-up a photo of a decent specimen – this photo does the job!



AR Denarius, Mint of Rome, c. A.D. 164-166
Obv: LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F draped bust of Lucilla right
Rx: VESTA Vesta standing facing, head left, pouring ritual libation from simpulum (ceremonial ladle) over lighted altar at her feet and holding Palladium.
RIC III 788; RSC 92




Mark

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No38 - reported to museum

Hoard 38 – 2.87g, 18mm

Geta, Caesar, 198-209. AR denarius, Mint of Rome 203 AD
Obv: L SEPTIMIVS GETA CAES bare-headed draped bust of Geta seen from behind
Rx: FELICITAS TEMPOR Felicitas standing facing, head left, holding caduceus and cornucopiae.
RIC IV 9a, RSC 38a

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No39 - reported to museum

Hoard 39 -3.06g, 20mm

Julia Domna (W. of Sept. Severus) 193-217, AR denarius, Mint of Rome, 208 AD.
Obv: IVLIA AVGVSTA draped bust of Julia Domna right    
Rx: HILARITAS Hilaritas standing facing, head left, holding palm-branch; between two naked children
RIC 559, RSC 79

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No40 - reported to museum

3.17g, 19mm

Geta, Caesar, 198-209, silver denarius, Mint of Rome, 206 AD.
Obv: P SEPIMIVS GETA CAES draped, bare-headed bust of Geta right seen from behind
Rx: PROVID DEORVM Providentia standing facing, head left, holding rod and scepter (the scepter looks like a cornucopiae on the coin due to a die flaw, but it’s a scepter) globe at feet.
RIC 51; RSC 170

Mark

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No41 - reported to museum

0.73g,13mm

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No42 - reported to museum

2.99g,17mm

Nerva, 96-98 AD. AR denarius, Mint of Rome, Jan-Sept 97 AD
Obv: IMP NERVA CAES AVG P M TR P COS III P P  laureate head of Nerva right.
Rx: CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM  clasped right hands.
RIC 14, RSC 20.

Mark

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No43 - reported to museum

3.30g, 19mm

Caracalla, 198-217 AD. AR denarius, Mint of Rome, 205 AD.
Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG laureate and draped bust of young Caracalla right, seen from behind
Rx: PONTIF P M TR P VIII COS II Salus enthroned left feeding serpent arising from altar
(If this is correct identification) RIC 82; RSC 422.

Mark

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No44 - reported to museum

3.22g, 19.13g

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No45 - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.56g,17.03mm

Commodus. Son of Marcus Aurelius, his sole reign marked the end of the era of “The Good Emperors”. He slowly went crazy, and by the end of his reign/life had convinced himself he was the reincarnation of Hercules and was regularly fighting wild beasts in the arena. This was not considered correct or appropriate behavior for an emperor, to say the least – plus he was an all-around shit to everyone, highly paranoid, and tended to have any foe, real or imagined, executed. He was portrayed, extremely inaccurately from an historical standpoint, as the main antagonist in the movie “Gladiator”. They made him evil enough, but nowhere nearly so bat-poo unhinged as he was in real life.
It’s a very interesting reverse – a far more ambitious composition than one typically sees on a denarius – platform scenes are far more usually seen on sestertii.

Commodus, sole reign, 180-192 A.D. AR denarius issued 186 A.D.
Obv: M COMM ANT P FEL AVG BRIT laureate head of Commodus right
Rx: FID EXERC (in exergue) P M TR P XI IMP VII COS V P P Commodus standing left on platform haranging three soldiers standing right before him; each holds a legionary eagle and shield.
RIC III 130; RSC 143; SRCV 5639
his reign came just before the beginning of the Severan dynastic era, so it’s in the right general time-frame for the hoard, so far.

Mark

Roman silver hoard coin addendum No46 - reported to museum and sent for ID

2.79g,18.68mm

Continuing with the theme of less-than-pleasant emperors:
This is Caracalla – son of Septimius Severus - also a feared, as well as probably deranged character. He was somewhat successful in terms of military conquests, but more typically by means of subterfuge, like inviting the opposing king and generals to a treaty parlay and killing them all as he did with the Parthians. He also introduced the debased silver double-denarius denomination we call “antoninianus”, a 2-denarius coin with 1.5 denarii worth of silver in it, setting the stage for the massive debasements of the later 3rd century.

Caracalla (198-217 AD), as co-emperor with Septimius Severus, 198-209 AD. AR denarius, issued 207 AD.
Obv: ANTONINVS PIVS AVG laureate head of Commodus right.

Rx: PONTIF TR P X COS II securitas enthroned right, at her ease in seat with cornucopiae as arms; head propped on right hand, holding scepter with left; small altar before her.
RIC IV 92; RSC 434; SRCV 6863

Mark