 An overview
By Kevin Barry
First some definitions...
Before we get into hoards I thought it would be useful to go over how coins are actually lost and the different classifications that scholars put those losses into. In general, most
scholars put coin losses into 2 very broad classifications, accidental losses and hoards. To those categories I would like to add a third, donatives.
Accidental losses encompasses a wide range to occurrences such as dropped coins, the aftermath of battles, natural disasters (Pompeii being a perfect example), ships foundering and other situations were the owner of the coins had less than perfect control over the fate of his coins.
For donatives I have included situations where the coins are not lost, but given away
for religious rites or pleasure. The religious include funerary rites, temple donations, etc..
The pleasure includes things such as wishing wells. At least one example of a wishing well has been found and excavated in Northern Italy. Admittedly these comprise a very small part of the
overall coin lose.
And finally hoards...
Hoards a generally defined as two or more coins that are found together in such as way that
it is obvious that the original owner hid them on purpose. Very often they are found buried
in containers which explains the lack of corrosive by-products typical of most buried coins. The containers can be leather pouches, clay vessels, iron boxes and pots, etc.. Almost anything
may have been used to contain a hoard. Typically, hoards are found in out of the way areas that did not experience a lot of traffic in antiquity. (Makes sense, after all you wouldn't want your hard earned denarii found by a passing stranger.)
Hoards have a few general characteristics such as the fact they they are mostly made up of silver and/or gold coins. Bronze hoards are also found, but the numbers a few compared
to the incidence of silver and gold hoards. The coins in hoards are frequently high grade
and often uncirculated. The question is, why? If the idea were simply to hide your wealth
then what difference did it make whether you hide a mint fresh aureus or a worn one? One suggestion is simple human nature and the desire to protect the best of what you have.
Why bury them? ...
Consider that this is a time where there are no banks, no places that will guarantee the safety
of your money. Your gold and silver would be only marginally safer hidden in your house. So
that leaves hiding it somewhere outside, away from people.
Consider the following scenario:
Your name is Marcus Fabius Silanus, a moderately successful merchant who imports luxury goods
(such as Greek perfumed wine .. a very popular item with the upper class) from all over the
empire and beyond. You also have a part interest in a small shipyard north of Rome which is where
you decided to locate your modest villa. That villa is quite ably run by your wife, Gallia
Verbenia who takes care of your 2 kids, 2 freedman servants (your bookkeeper/scribe and the
children's tutor) and 5 slaves.
You are a good businessman, husband, father, master and a believer in the Republic. You also manage to make a decent profit and are firmly within the grasp of the growing Roman middle class. Among your friends and acquaintances are some of the rising stars of Roman politics, such as Marcus Junius Brutus. Life, up to now, has been good.
However, the date is March of 44 BC. and you have just learned of the assassination of Caesar at
the hand of your (former) good friend Brutus. Your first thought is, "By the Gods, they did away
with that idiot with imperial pretensions'. The second thought is, 'By the Gods what if they
think I had something to do with it?!?' You know Mark Antony and that twit Octavian will be
looking for revenge against anyone they think was involved. After taking a brief moment to
curse the ancestors of Brutus, you decide it is time to take a little trip to 'tour' your business interests abroad.
You gather your family and household together, explain the situation and make ready to leave
quickly. You send word to the shipyard to prepare a ship for travel and turn to the problem
of your household goods. Besides your wife's jewelry, you have a considerable holding of denarii
and some aureii. It is not practical to take it all with you so you pick the best of the lot (the worn ones are good enough for spending money) and place it all in an empty amphora. In the dark
you head up into the hills, bury it and make a careful note of its location. (5 paces past the tree that looks like a rock and another 10 past the rock that looks like a tree.)
You board ship with your wife, children and household staff and sail off into history.
What happened? Why didn't you come back to dig up your hoard?
In your case there could have been any number of reasons. The ship may have foundered, soldiers could have arrested you before you could get away, you may have decided that you liked it better abroad and never had a chance to go back. But quite honestly the most likely explanation is death in one of its many forms. You died and temporarily the secret of your hoard died with you.
2,000 years later your precious hoard is found and comes to the hands of some very appreciative collectors who hold your coins and wonder .... what happened to you. Unfortunately, we neither know your name nor your fate. The mists of time effectively hide you from us forever.
Some Statistics....
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As you can see, the incidence of hoarding tends to rise as events such as civil unrest, and war occur. When times were bad, people hoarded. When times are good, such as after the accession
of Augustus, the hoarding went down. Similar rates of hoarding may be found during later periods of unrest and during monetary retariffing. During retariffing, such as the debasement of the denarius, people tended to hoard the older, good silver coins. An interesting note is that during
the long period of debasement, even the older debased denarii of Mark Antony were hoarded because they were better silver than the newly minted coins.
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Hoards can be roughly dated by taking the known dates for the coins. By looking at the youngest and oldest dated coins we can make an educated guess as to when the hoard was hidden.
The graph above shows the number of hoards that have been found that could dated to the period of 100 BC to 3 BC and therefore linked to events of the time.
Hoards and the Market....
By their nature (coins hidden for protection) it is impossible to predict when a hoard of
coins will be found. No one can predict when another 10,000 Eid Mar denarii will suddenly
pop on to the market. When that happens, it can have an effect on market values, but that
effect is most often a temporary one. The worldwide coin market is so large that it
can easily absorb a large number of coins and bounce back a few years after the hoard is
dispersed.
However, if a hoard is very large and it is dispersed over a period of years (mostly to keep
the market from being severely depressed) then the market for that type of coin can be
effected for an equal number of years. For example, lately there have been large numbers of high
grade Antonine antoninianii entering the market, presumably from such as hoard. This has caused
the market price for the type to drop dramatically. Where they came from and how many there are
is unknown but I have heard stories of literally tens of thousands of them being seen in one place.
As dealers we hear many different stories about hoards. One such story came out of Germany last
year about a huge find that was stored in 2 (or more) 55 gallon drums. The drums were full of
mint state Constantine era bronzes. You can imagine how many coins it would take to fill a single
drum, never mind 2 or more. Apparently the coins were found at the site of a provincial mint that was uncovered during a construction project. Those coins went to the German Archeological Ministry. Whether or not they are ever on display is another story.
Anyone else have any good hoard stories? If you do, email us with the details and maybe we will
get enough to put out a 'best of the hoard stories' newsletter.
- KEB -
By Christian Ziehe
About our guest author....
Christian Ziehe is an ancient coin dealer from Oberndorf, Germany. If you would like to see some truly choice and hard to find coins, then pay a visit to his web site at: www.private.gisa.de/ziehe/coins.htm. We are sure you will enjoy the visit.
On the 9th of September 1993 the biggest gold coin hoard of the roman empire
was found in Trier. More than 2570 Aurei were found in a bronze kettle when the
foundation of a new parking garage was build. A picture of the original kettle is shown
below.
This small article describes the composition of the treasure.
The coin hoard consists of 2570 Aureii with a total weight of 18,5 kg. To date, this
is the largest roman gold coin hoard ever found. The Aureii usually have a weight of 7,27
gram and have a high gold content (980/1000).
The hoard composition....
In total 29 emperors and empresses can be found. 96 % of the coins were minted in Rome, 4 % in Lyon. The Lyon coins are without exception from the reign of Vespasian.
The oldest coins in the hoard are two Aurei of Nero, minted in the years 63/64 before the
reform. The latest Aurei are minted under Septimus Severus between 193 and 196.
Noticeable is that most coins are from Nero, Vespasian, Titus (71,5 % of the total number).
Nero has the greatest number with 867 coins.
The coins were not placed individually in the kettle but stored in sealed leather pouches first. Judging by the 100+ year date range it is likely that the coins were placed at
different times. The last coins were put in during the reign of S. Severus in 196.
But why ??
One possible explanation of why this immense treasure was forgotten is the civil war
between Septimus Severus and Clodius Albinus in the years 196/197. At this time Trier was
besieged by the troops of Septimus. The hoard was not found at a special place like a temple
or a government building but in the cellar of a normal house.
(editors note: Could this have been an ancient coin collection? Probably not considered the number of coins. But it would be interesting to see a comparative count of
duplicates
But what was the purpose of this treasure ?
If it is truly an accumulation put together over 100 years then it must be a family hoard.
That hints at a level of dedication that we may find hard to believe today. Many stories are
possible- imagine !
We have provided links below so you can see the images in their original size. Fair
warning though...some of these images are impressively large. - KEB
Kettle
Gold Coin Group
Jugate Portrait Coin
A later note from Christian regarding another hoard:
You will find a additional photo full of bronze coins. This is a second story from Trier.
The found 32000 !! of them near the bridge over the Mosel. If you like, I can write a small
article for your next issue. Also in Trier some very huge gold medallions from Constantine
are shown. (10 times Aureii) :-) I have see them and had wait that the safety system had a
failure, but .....
A peak at the Mosel Bridge Hoard
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