Arthur Shippee passed along this article found via The Explorator newsletter about a hoard of fourth and fifth century Roman coins and hacksilver. Thanks. -Editor
A hoard of fourth and fifth century silver including coins and plates hacked up after a Roman-era "Brexit" has been unearthed in a farmer's field by three metal
detectorists, a treasure inquest has heard.
The "significant" discovery, made in the Wem area of Shropshire last year, included a brooch thought to have been used to pin together a cloth or leather bag when the
hoard was buried during the Dark Ages.
Shropshire coroner John Ellery was told the haul - only the sixth hoard of Roman hacksilver found in Britain - was located by Steve Lord, Steve King and Andy Bijsterbosch after
they detected a handful of coins in a ploughed field.
Mr Ellery ruled that the original find, and more silver objects identified during a follow-up dig last week, constituted a single hoard of treasure.
The coins and the other items should be known as the Wem Hoard, said Mr Ellery, who was told that experts at the British Museum were involved in assessing and examining the
items.
Peter Reavill, finds liaison officer for Shropshire and Herefordshire with the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme, told the inquest it was hoped the items could
be acquired for display in Shropshire.
He told the hearing some of the coins had been chiselled into halves and quarters, as the collapse of the monetary system following "the Roman Brexit" meant they only
retained value as silver bullion. Astonishing hoard of chopped-up Roman era silver discovered in Shropshire field - Birmingham Live Pieces of silver cups and plates were found cut
into smaller pieces, also of apparent use as a form of payment.
To read the complete article, see:
Astonishing hoard of chopped-up Roman era silver discovered in Shropshire
field (https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/astonishing-hoard-chopped-up-roman-16865559)
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor
at this address: whomren@gmail.com
To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS)
All Rights Reserved.
NBS Home Page
Contact the NBS webmaster
|