Roman and Medieval Coins Found in Scotland, 1988-95
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Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1997)7 12 , 527-561 Roma medievad nan l coins foun Scotlandn di , 1988-95 HolmesQ BatesonMc D J M t N *& ABSTRACT surveyA of over sites Scotland300 in describes Roman laterand coin finds since 1988. INTRODUCTION A steady stream of coins continues to be found in Scotland, and this survey lists those recovered up to the end of 1995. The catalogue and discussion covers coins dating from the Roman period to the Act of Union and includes all casual and metal-detector finds which have been notified to either of the two authors, as well as hoards found in isolation and a number of finds from archaeological excavation watchind san g briefs. Coin finds from major excavations, which wile lb published elsewhere, hav occasionn eo t beesno n listed individually t referenc,bu bees eha n made publisheo t forthcominr do g reports. formae Th t follow previoue th s s survey (Bateson 1989) except tha17th-centure th t y finds have been put into their own section. The Roman section includes the small number of other classical coins found, such as Greek and Byzantine. Medieval coins cover issues from the sixth centur UnioCrowne e th th f o ynt o 1603n si numerou e .Th s copper 17te cointh hf scenturo y have been omitted from this surve recora t ysucf bu do h find keps si t bot a tNationae hth l Museumf o Scotlan Hunteriae th d dan n Museum 17th-centure Th . y silver coins continu includee b o et t dbu seemed better recorded separately from the medieval coins to 1603. This, however, has the perhaps undesirable effec breakinf o t complete th p gu e corpus from singla e equallsitd ean y some 16th-century finds, particularly Tudor issues, are probably in fact 17th-century losses. This was an experiment which may not be repeated in the next survey. survee Th y consist thref so e main sections: A Roman coin finds B Medieval coin finds to 1603 C 17th-century silver coin finds subdivisioe Th Romae th f no n find: sis Al Finds from Roman sites A2 Finds from native sites A3 Isolated finds A4 Finds of other classical coins * Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ t Royal Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JF 528 | SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF SCOTLAND, 1997 The finds within the subdivisions of section A and within sections B and C are arranged alphabetically with the county being given for each individual record. The type of site is added Romae foth r n site thos d Af so an l e locate Antonine th n do e Wal precedee l ar lettere th y dsb AW (eg 'AW fort'). Normally each entrcoia r nyfo contain issuername e sth th denominationf e eo th , , the dat f issueeo , min referenced an t Romae Th . s continuenA spellee b o st d wit hcapitaa o t l avoid confusion; late Roman bronze coins are given by their size, ie AE 17 mm; and unless otherwise stated Rome is the mint for coins in Al-3. Reference Romae coinr th sfo f so n Republi Crawforo t e car d e r thos(1974th fo f d eo )an Empir Romano et Imperial Coinage (RIC); r Scottisfo h coins either Burns (1887 r Stewaro ) t (1967); English Norto coint jettone e shar th (1991)r r reckoninso fo d an ; g counters Mitchiner (1988). Then follow physical details which are not given for coins already published or to be published elsewher forthcominn i s ea g excavation reports. Four detail providede sar , thougt hno necessaril thosf o r eacl eyfo al h entry: condition, weight axie locationd di ,s an . Conditioy nma include the degree of corrosion if present (C or c) followed by wear — very worn (VW), worn (W), fairly worn (FW), slightly worn (SW) and unworn (UW); as always the description of wea rathes ri r subjective weighe Th . gives i t grammen i s (g) jettonr fo ; s weigh substitutes i t y db diameter (mm). The die axis is rendered in numerals without the degrees sign. Location, if known, i switf i findegivee abbreviatioe F hth s elsr th n a o r s ea appropriate th f no e museum. The abbreviations for the museums appearing in the present list are as follows: AM, Aberdeen , DumfriesDM ; ; ECM, Edinburgh City Museums , Falkirk , FM ;Glasgow GM ; , HM ; Hunterian Museum; IM, Inverness; NMS NMSCd Qan , National Museum f Scotlano s d— Queen Street and Chambers Street; PM, Perth. numbee Th coif ro n finds submitte recordinr dfo g continue riseo st , largel resula n a s y a f o t increasing willingnes a numbepare f th o t n f activo so r e metal-detectorist o disclost s e their discoveries. It is to be hoped that this trend will continue, since the larger the body of recorded material, the more useful it is in establishing patterns of coin use and loss. Optimism is tempered, however knowledge th y b , e that large number coinf so stile sar l being removed fro groune mth d in Scotland and are not being made available for recording. Since individual detectorists tend to have their own particular search areas, to which they return frequently if finds are made regularly, this situation must give ris distortiono et geographicae th n si l patter recordef no d coin loss. This proble overcome b n mca e onl convinciny yb detectoristl gal s that they have nothino gt lose by complying with the law and declaring their finds. As the records show, the vast majority f singlo e coin find returnee ar s Treasure finderso dt th d an ,e Trove system ensures tha casen i t s where coin e claimedar s , mostly when hoard e recoveredar s e finderth , s receiv a reware d equivalent to full market value. Since most detectorists clearly have an interest in the history behind the coins, it is to be hoped that they will appreciate the importance of the accumulation of dat researcr afo h purposes. A: ROMAN COINS FOUND IN SCOTLAND, 1988-95 A1: FINDS FROM ROMAN SITES Ancrum, Roxburghshire (road) Found nea Romae rth n roa 1995n di : Marcus Aurelius, denarius, Rome, AD 161 -4 (fragmentary — FW/1.80g/0/F). Bar Hill, Dunbartonshir fort W furtheA (A ) e r single cois founwa n de summe herth n i ef 1994o r : Hadrian, denarius (C-FW/2.37g/180/F). BATESON & HOLMES: ROMAN AND MEDIEVAL COINS FOUND IN SCOTLAND 529 Bonnyfield, Stirlingshire (AW) Gravel extractio 1992n i Antoninnorte e , justh th f ho o t e o Wallt d le , chance th e discover singla f yo e coin: Trajan, denarius, Rome, AD 112-117, RIC(chippe7 33 d -W/F). Carpow, Perthshire (legionary base sitesinglA ) e gold coin foun 198n ddeclarei s 9Treasurwa e b o dt e Trove: Antoninus Pius with Marcus Aurelius, aureus, Rome, AD 139mulC RI ,e 414/41 (FW/6.86g/180) 1(a / Dundee Museum) Holmee se , s 1991b. Four coins were found in 1995: (1) Trajan, denarius, Rome, AD 103-11, RIC 128 (FW/2.83g/180/F); ) Septimiu(2 s Severus, denarius, Rome, AD 198-200 135C RI ,b (SW/2.75g/O/F) ) Septimiu;(3 s Severur sfo Julia Domna, denarius, Rome, AD 196-211, RIC 572-4? (fragmentary, c-SW/0.74g/180/F); (4) Septimius Severus for Geta, denarius, Rome, AD 200-202, RIC 18 (UW/2.66g/190/F). Various finds have been made 1991-3 on Jamesfield Farm in an area to the north of the fortress: (1) Vespasian, denarius, Rome (W/2.24g/180/F)2 4 72-3 D C A , RI , ) Antoninu(2 ; s Pius, denarius, RomeD A , (c-FW/2.12g/180/F)8 5 139C RI , Commodus) ;(3 , denarius, Rome (SW/2.51g/30/F),9 A13 D 186C RI , ) ;(4 Septimius Severus, denarius, Rome ,(SW/1.76g/195/F) 0 AD15 200C RI , ) similar;(5 , AD 193-5 350C RI ,a (FW/1.74g/345/F); (6) Septimius Severus for Julia Domna, denarius, Rome, AD 196-211, RIC 572 (fragmentary, SW/0.93g/O/F); (7) Septimius Severus for Geta, denarius, Rome, AD 200-2, RIC 18 (c-SW/ 1.41g/180/F). Foun Westen do r Clunie Farm 1992: Trajan, denarius, Rome, A D(FW/2.82g/1808 103-1112 C RI , / F). Castledykes, Lanarkshire (fort) Further finds have been made throughout the period under review: (1) Roman Republic, denarius, Rome, 116 or 115 BC, Crawford 286; (2) Mark Antony, legionary denarius (uncertain legion), 32-3 , Crawfor1BC (W/2.30g/180)4 d54 ) Vespasian(3 ; , RomeAs , , AD 78-9 596C RI ,; (4) Trajan, denarius, Rome, AD 103-11, RIC 163 (FW/2.46g/180); (5) Trajan, sestertius (W/16.79/180); (6) Hadrian, sestertius, Rome 128-38D A ,970bC ) RI Antoninu, (7 ; s 138-51)PiuD (A s , uncertair o s nA dupondius; (8) Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius for Faustina II, uncertain denarius; (9) uncertain remaindee th , HM rn i wit finderse e har th 5 d .sestertiusan 4 , 2 s .No Cornhill, Lanarkshire (camp) Three denarii were found her n 1988i e ) Mar(1 : k Antony, legionary denarius (VII?), 32-31 BC, Crawford 544/20 (VW/2.79g/180) Vespasian) ;(2 , Rome, A, «/C99D76 a (C-W/ 2.05g/180) Hadrian) ;(3 , Rome, AD 119-28 (fragmentary, C-w/1.62g/180). Cramond, Midlothia Domitiaf o ns A (forn vicus d fina e reportes n i f an tdo Th ) Discoveryn di Excav Scot 1991,51.