RESCUED BEFORE FALLING FURTHER VICTIM TO THE PLOUGH

Intriguing clues to their origins indicate that at least some of the coins found in the Vale of Pewsey Hoard in September 2020 may have been on their way directly from the mint at Trier in the Mosel valley for military use.

 

The evidence is just one aspect of a highly unusual find by three experienced metal detectors investigating farmland in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire with the permission of the landowner.

Over the course of two days Rob Abbott, Dave Allen and Mick Rae discovered a total of 160 silver coins and coin fragments, which were subsequently submitted to the relevant authorities for processing according to the Treasure Act 1997.

The distribution of the hoard across 30 metres of land, together with the appearance of recent damage to some of the coins, suggests that any original parcel in which they might have been contained was destroyed by agricultural activity. The timely discovery prevented any further deterioration in what proved to be an historic recovery.
Of particular note was the high proportion of Miliarensia in the hoard – large silver coins introduced under Constantine the Great in the early 4th century – which was largely made up of the smaller and more common Siliquae of the same period.

Following assessment and appraisal, the British Museum decided to acquire two Miliarensia from the group for the Nation’s collection. The remaining coins were disclaimed and returned to the original finders, who have now chosen to sell the hoard so that private scholars and numismatists may have the opportunity to acquire examples for their own collections. They constitute the contents of the catalogue in Noonans’ sale: 142 complete, or near complete, coins, 18 Miliarensia and 124 Siliquae.

“The eighteen Miliarensia from the Vale of Pewsey hoard offered here for sale are all fantastic examples of fourth century numismatic art,” says Noonans specialist Bradley Hopper.

He is especially interested in the number of Miliarensia found in proportion to the hoard as a whole.

“Within Britain, which has produced far more fourth century hoards than any other Roman province, only a fifth of the recovered silver hoards belonging to this period contain Miliarensia. When they do occur, these large silver pieces often make up a minute fraction of the hoards’ overall contents. The Hoxne treasure contained just 60 examples in amongst the c.15,000 late Roman gold and silver coins, the Stanchester Hoard contained thirty-three Miliarensia alongside some 1168 Siliquae and the Gussage-all-Saints contained just nine in the company of over 600 Siliquae. It is unusual, therefore, that the relatively small Vale of Pewsey group contains so many specimens of this important denomination.”

The Miliarensia in the hoard are also in remarkable condition.

“The question of how and why such parcels of coin travelled from Trier to Pewsey is an intriguing one. Involvement of the imperial state would appear unavoidable, and the use of these coins as payment in return for military service seems as likely as any other possibility. The large size and precise metrology of fourth century Miliarensia suggests that they were intended to fulfil a different economic function to the more common Siliquae.”

It is possible that these coins were made as prestige presentation pieces.

All conservation work was performed by Noonans’ in-house expert, Nigel Mills. As he reports, “after an initial soak in detergent to loosen the deposits, electrolysis was used with citric acid as the cleaning agent. Under a microscope the surfaces were then examined and any remaining deposits were carefully removed. The results can be seen in the before and after pictures.”

Estimates for individual coins in the hoard range from as little as £20-30 for a Siliqua of Milan, 395-402 up to £2,000-2,600 for a Miliarensis of Trier, 337-40.