Post-Roman Coins from York Excavations 1971�1 I
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The Archaeology of York Volume 18: The Coins General Editor P. V. Addyman © York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research 1986 Published by Council for British Archaeology 112 Kennington Road London SEll 6RE The Archaeology of York Vol. 18: The Coins Fasc. 1: Post-Roman Coins from York Excavations 1971�1 I. York (North Yorkshire) - Antiquities 2.England - Antiquities I. Addyman, P. V. II. Pirie, E. J.E. III. Archibald, M. M. IV. Hall, R. A. 936.2'843 DA690.Y6 ISBN O 900312 97 I Printed by William Sessions Ltd The Cover illustration Obverse and reverse strikings on the lead trial-plate (59) Ebor Press York, from Eadwigs reign 955-9,found at 16-22Coppergate England Photo M. Duffy Volume 18 Fascicule 1 Post-Roman Coins from York Excavations 1971-81 By E. J. E. Pirie With M. M. Archibald and R. A. Hall In memoriam C. H. M. Clarke, 1942-82 Contents EditoriallntroductionbyP. V.Addyman .. .. .. .. .. .. I Post-Roman Coinage and the Significance of the Finds in York byE. J. E. Pirie 3 Numismatic Finds from16-22 Coppergate .. .. 15 Archaeological aspects by R. A. Hall .. 15 The coins byE.J. E. Pirie .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 25 The £thelrredpenny from the York mint by the late Michael Dolley .. .. 30 The minting evidence by E .J.E. Pirie .. .. .. 33 The date of the St Peter coin die byB. H. I. H. Stewart·.. .. 42 The Carolingian coin die fromMelle by C. E. Blunt .. 44 Archaeological Aspects ofBedernand Other Sites .. .. .. .. .. 45 Catalogue of Post-Roman Coins found 1971-81 by E. J. E. Pirie, with contributions by M. M. Archibald . 50 Editorial Introduction By P. V. Addyman Coins have been used in York at least since the 1st century AD, perhaps with an interlude in the 5th to 7th centuries. During much of the Anglian, Anglo-Scandinavian and medieval periods coins were actually made in the city, and even in the Roman period counterfeiting of official issues evidently went on. Coins and other nurnismatica, such as forgeries, moulds, dies, trial-pieces, weights and tokens, are thereforeregularly found in York excavations, and are constantly being turned up in gardens and commercial excavations in and around the city. I 2 The Coins Individually they often have an intrinsic interest. As site-finds, especially when their stratigraphic position is beyond· doubt, they have a wider archaeological importance, especially for dating. Taken together they can reveal general patterns of incidence or absence which may reflect political events or economic conditions or monetary policies. Many of them, particularly those associated with the process of minting or the products of York mints, have an especial interest to numismatists. For these and other reasons coins have been recovered from the soils of York for centuries, collected, studied, published and, since the beginning of the 19th century, accumulated in the collections of local and national museums. They forma body of evidence with considerable potential to enlighten understanding of the city's past. Much of the numismatic evidence for York's past is now becoming conveniently available through the British Academy's Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles, from which it will be one day possible to make a comprehensive study of the York mints and the distribution of their products. An especially valuable volume of the Sylloge, by E. J. E. Pirie, concerns coins in Yorkshire collections, including that of the Yorkshire Museum (SCBI 21 Yorkshire Collections, 1975). This brings together most of the York finds of non-Roman and non-foreign coins made up to 1971, the year in which the work of the York Archaeological Trust and its predecessor the York Archaeological Working Committee began. It seemed sensible to the Trust to continue fromthe point reached by this volume, and to present systematic catalogues of all subsequent numismatic findsmade in York more or less in the form which has proved so successful in the Sylloge, though with especial attention to the archaeological significanceof the finds. The Trust's catalogues, produced as Volume 18 of The Archaeologyof York, differ from those in the Sylloge by including Roman coins, foreign coins and post-medieval coins found in York, together with tokens and other numismatica. They also represent a departure from conventional practice in archaeological reports of presenting the coins along with other site-finds. The modest loss in convenience to those concerned with the excavation reports themselves seemed more than outweighed by the coherence gained by presenting the numismatic evidence together, the special requirements of numismatic publication, and the convenience provided to numismatists, who notoriously often remain unaware of coins tucked away in the depths of archaeological publications. Coins are intrinsically datable, and this often to the field archaeologist seems at first their prime importance. It is, indeed, normally possible to state within more or less precise limits the dates between which a particular coin must have been made. This date bracket therefore provides a starting point in attempts to date the context in which the coin was found. The deposit can hardly have grown up before the date of manufacture of the coin. Coins, however, can have a long period of currency and, indeed, may remain around, as souvenirs, ornaments, curios or even bullion, long after they cease to be current. It is therefore important to the archaeologist to know, first, how long a period of currency each coin might have had; whether there are any signs, for instance in terms of wear, that the coin was used for some time after its minting; and when it is most likely to have been lost. There can, of course, only rarely be certainty about date of loss, and attempts to establish it are fraughtwith hazard. A coin might have avoided wear by being hoarded and never used until shortly before its loss, many years after manufacture, in a relatively fresh condition. Equally, under certain Post-Roman Coins from York Excavations 1971-81 3 circumstances much wear can take place very quickly. Date of loss, therefore, is a matter of probability; but the probabilities are narrowed when two or more coins are found together, or when there is other archaeological evidence to corroborate a proposed date. When coins are found in large hoards the probabilities can often be narrowed considerably, sometimes to months, if not weeks. As with every other category of archaeological findin a place like York which is built on the debris of previous generations of occupants, there is always the possibility that ancient coins may themselves have been found or dug up in the past and have eventually become incorporated in deposits belonging to a period long after that of the currency of the coin. Roman coins, forinstance, are quite frequently found in medieval levels in Yorkthough it is quite certain they were not in any sense used as coins at that time. The date of a coin from an archaeological context may, therefore, mean several things: the date of manufacture; the date at which it may have been lost, concealed or abandoned; and the date at which it reached its eventual find spot. Where possible, therefore, this catalogue includes an estimate of date of loss though as often as not the discussion of this important issue has been reserved for the archaeological report, where the full circumstances can be set out. Between 1971 and 1981 some 420 post-Roman coins, tokens and jettons were found, together with five other numismatica. Between them they provide a useful first corpus from the York Archaeological Trust's excavations, to be followed by a similar corpus for an equivalent body of Roman material. The coins themselves are deposited in the Yorkshire Museum, York, under accession numbers quoted in each catalogue entry. The archaeological circumstance of each find will eventually be given in the appropriate excavation report in various volumes of The Archaeology of York, and in the meantime is recorded in excavation archives held by York Archaeological Trust pending eventual transfer to the Yorkshire Museum. Post-Roman Coinage and the Significance of the Finds in York By E. J. E. Pirie Introduction Coins have been made and used forover two thousand years. They have, indeed, been used in York for most of this time. Over the centuries enormous numbers have been incorporated in the archaeological deposits in and around the city. Many have been accidentally lost and others have been hidden in the ground for safety to be found much later as hoards. In York, as elsewhere, there has been a long tradition of interest in collecting and studying the coins of earlier times. Discoveries of ancient coins have been noted since the 17th century. For York itself, the finding of a 'nest of coins' of William I in High Ousegate in 1704 was registered by the Leeds historian Ralph Thoresby. It was Thoresby, with Archbishop Sharp of York, who had earlier recorded the hoard of 9th century Northumbrian stycas found at Ripon in 1695 (Pirie, 1982). 4 The Coins Such early coins were made without machinery. Large numbers of hand-cut dies were needed forthe moneyers striking the coins by hand, often at a large number of mints. The variety of styles and a host of other details render such pieces valuable as documents which can be read and interpreted to throw light on the history of the period they represent especially when there may be little other documentation to tell us of that particular time. Modern study of coins in quantity, as they occur in hoards, enables us to establish a sequence of issue forthe various types and to differentiate the officialcoins of regular styles from contemporary forgeries. Single coins of a particular issue, found during excavation of settlement sites, may then be dated and their evidence can help to date the site from which they come.