Roman silver coin hoard found in Devon

The silver coins were 96 denarii and one drachm. The six copper alloy comprised four sestertii and two dupondii. The find has been officially declared treasure.

Caracalla, AD 198-217. Silver Denarius 3.20g Rome mint, struck 209 AD.

Two metal detectorists found the hoard on pasture land at North Huish near South Brent in Devon. They uncovered 97 silver coins and six copper alloy coins a few inches below the surface. The coins span more than 200 years, from 32BC to the joint rule of Septimius Severus and Caracalla in the early 3rd Century. Experts say the hoard was probably buried after AD205.

Salt Mining

Salt, NaCl (sodium chloride), is an ionic compound made of sodium and chloride ions. All life depends on its chemical properties to survive. It has been used by humans for thousands of years, from food preservation to seasoning. Salt's ability to preserve food was a founding contributor to the development of civilization.

Prior to industrialization, it was expensive, dangerous, and labor intensive to harvest the mass quantities of salt needed for food preservation and seasoning. This made salt an extremely valuable commodity in ancient times. Entire economies were based solely on salt production and trade. Salt was a highly valued trade item, and was considered a form of trade currency.

Ancient method of boiling brine into pure salt in China.

In the Iron Age, the British evaporated salt by boiling seawater or brine from salt spri­ngs in small clay pots over open fires. Roman salt-making entailed boiling seawater in lead-lined pans. In ancient Rome, salt on the table was a mark of a very rich patron; those who sat nearer the host were "above the salt," and those less favored were "below the salt".

The oldest salt mine known in Azerbaijan.

Ancient Roman Glass Salt Dishes

Roman prisoners were given the task of salt mining, and life expectancy was low. Rapid dehydration caused by constant contact with the salt and accidental excessive sodium intake was fatal. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder stated in his Natural History's discussion of sea water, that "[I]n Rome ... the soldier's pay was originally salt and the word 'salary' derives from it ..."

Roman salt pans in Hortales.

The oldest of the salt men found has been carbon dated to 9550 B.C.

While bulldozing salt from the Chehrabad Salt Mine, Iranian miners uncovered the sixth "salt man" to be found in the last fifteen years. These "salt men" are ancient corpses killed or crushed in the cave and mummified by the extreme conditions. Hair, flesh and bone are all preserved by the dry salinity of the cave, and even internal organs such as stomachs and colons have been found intact. The first salt mummy, dated to 300 A.D., was discovered in 1993, sporting a long white beard, iron knives and a single gold earring. In 2004 another mummy was discovered only 50 feet away, followed by another in 2005 and a "teenage" boy mummy later that year.

Herefordshire hoard

The Herefordshire hoard, found near Leominster, Herefordshire in June 2015, originally contained about 300 coins, of which 31 were recovered along with a silver ingot, a rock-crystal pendant mounted in gold wire, a gold bracelet, and a gold finger ring. The missing 270 coins were estimated to have a total value of £2.4m. The hoard was buried in the late 9th century. The rock-crystal pendant is thought to be 5th or 6th century.

The two metal detectorists who unearthed a hoard of gold jewellery, silver ingots and coins buried more than 1,000 years ago by a Viking warrior in Herefordshire received lengthy jail sentences for theft in late 2019.

George Powell, 38, and Layton Davies, 51, should have legally declared the find, worth millions. They elected to steal it and sell it off. They received 10 years and 8.5 years respectively. The judge said they had cheated not only the landowner, but also the public of “exceptionally rare and significant” coins. “You cheated the farmer, his mother, the landowner and also the public when you committed theft of these items,” he said. “That is because the treasure belongs to the nation. The benefit to the nation is these items can be seen and admired by others."

Jewellery dated from the fifth to ninth centuries.

All the jewellery and one ingot was recovered but the majority of the 300 Anglo-Saxon coins are gone forever. One lost coin was “Two Emperors”, believed to depict King Alfred the Great of Wessex and Ceolwulf II of Mercia, revealing a previously unknown pact between the pair. After rumours began to circulate about the find, the gold and one ingot was handed over, but police recovered few of the coins.

The Griffin

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagle's talons as its front feet. The lion was considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds, so the griffin was thought of as king of all creatures. Griffins are known for guarding treasure. There is evidence of representations of griffins in ancient Iranian and ancient Egyptian art dating to before 3000 BC.

Romans often associated the mythical creatures with the sun god Apollo, giving the Griffin an air of power and dominance. A Griffin is 'as fiery as the Sun,' and was a creature to be feared and given respect. In Medieval Europe, the Griffin became a Christian symbol for the Church's ideals on marriage. According to legend, Griffins mated for life and in the event of the death of a partner, the surviving griffin would never seek another mate. The creature was also used to symbolize Jesus. The griffin's association with Christianity meant they became protectors of the dead.

In the eastern world, a part-man, part-bird creature, the Garuda, served as a mount for the Hindu god Vishnu. The griffin has been part of human culture since ancient times and persists today, as seen in various school emblems, mascots, and popular literature and movies.

Ancient coins on a budget

Lockdales’ auction sold a silver denarius of Septimius Severus. It was minted in Rome in AD 210. It changed hands for just £140. Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. Arriving in Britain in 208, he invaded Caledonia (modern Scotland) with an army of 50,000 men, strengthening Hadrian’s Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. His ambitions were cut short when he fell ill in late 210. He died in early 211 at Eboracum (York), and was succeeded by his sons.

There is a vast range of Roman coins at all price levels. If you want to collect examples that circulated from the first century to the second century AD, you will need to find two gold coins, an aureus and a quinarius aureus, two silver coins, the denarius and the quinarius argenteus, and five bronze coins: the sestertius, the dupondius, the as, the semis and the quadrans. Rare gold coins will be the most expensive. Bronze coins far less so.

Rome's news readers

In the Roman Republic and Empire, the newsreader (praeco) would read aloud the Acta Diurna. These were daily, official notices and public records. They were carved on stone or metal and presented in message boards in public places. The Acta Diurna (Latin for "Daily Acts") was essentially the world's first newspaper. Initiated by Julius Caesar in 59 BC, criers would read these updates on military victories, legal proceedings, and public events to the illiterate or gathered public.

The publication covered a wide range of official and social information. Decrees, legal proceedings, and outcomes of trials were advertised. Social updates included prominent births, marriages, and deaths. General news might include gladiator event results, military victories, weather, and even human-interest stories. After a few days, the postings were taken down and archived.

Roman grave marker found in New Orleans yard explained

The Roman grave marker found in the back yard of a New Orleans home was inherited and left there by the granddaughter of a US soldier who fought in Italy during the second world war. The headstone dedicated to circa second-century Roman sailor Sextus Congenius Verus had been stolen from the city museum of Civitavecchia, Italy. Erin Scott O’Brien told local media outlets that her grandfather, Charles Paddock Jr, kept the artifact in a display case at his home in New Orleans until his death in 1986.

"To the Spirits of the Dead [Dis Manibus] for Sextus Congenius Verus, soldier of the praetorian fleet Misenensis, from the tribe of the Bessi [of Thrace]" "(who) lived 42 years (and) served 22 in the military, on the trireme [warship] Asclepius" "Atilius Carus and Vettius Longinus, his heirs, made (this) for him well deserving"

The Classis Misenensis (Fleet of Misenum) was the senior and most important imperial Roman navy fleet, established by Augustus in 27 BC to protect the Western Mediterranean and act as a central naval reserve. Based at Portus Julius near Misenum, it served the emperor directly, maintaining security and conducting transport duties.

Rome's Port of Ostia (Portus Augusti) was officially inaugurated in 64 AD. Nero's famous bronze sestertius marks the event.

A second-century Roman sailor was typically a non-citizen auxiliary serving in the Classis (Roman Imperial Navy). Often recruited from coastal provinces, they were professional mariners and soldiers. Although paid less than legionaries, they received similar rations. Sailors spent their time ferrying officials, escorting grain fleets (annona), suppressing pirates, and performing routine maintenance on vessels. They served up to 26 years before earning full Roman citizenship.

The Pylos Combat Agate

Archaeologists excavating an ancient grave at Pylos in southwestern Greece in 2016 found a seal stone, a gemstone engraved with a design that can be stamped on clay or wax. The seal stone’s image is a striking depiction of one warrior in battle with two others. It is carved in fine detail. The seal stone’s owner, known as the Griffin Warrior, was buried around 1450 B.C. He lived at a time when the Minoan civilization of Crete was being transferred to cities of the Greek mainland. The sealstone is one of the finest works of prehistoric Greek art ever discovered. The tomb also revealed more than 3,000 objects arrayed on and around the warrior’s body.

Grave goods included four solid gold rings, silver cups, precious stone beads, fine-toothed ivory combs and an intricate sword, among other weapons.

See ---->Grave of ‘Griffin Warrior’ at Pylos

Tyrian Purple

The ultimate status symbol in ancient Rome was a set of robes died Tyrian purple. This colour, named for Tyre, its place of origin, was made from the Hexaplex trunculus snail. It took 13,000 snails to produce just 28 ml of dye, enough for the trim on one garment. In Republican Rome only the wealthiest men, the elite equites, were allowed to wear it. In Imperial Rome it was restricted to just the Emperor, as a symbol of his power.

In 40 AD, the king of Mauretania was killed in Rome on orders of Caligula. Despite being a friend to the Romans he caused a grave offence when he strode into an amphitheatre to watch gladiatorial games wearing a purple robe. Archaeological data from Tyre indicate that the snails were collected in large vats and left to decompose. This produced a hideous stench. Little is known about the mass production of the most highly prized "blackish clotted blood" colour. It may have been achieved by double-dipping the cloth, once in the indigo dye of H. trunculus and again in the purple-red dye of B. brandaris.

Tyrian purple may first have been used by the ancient Phoenicians as early as 1570 BC. The dye was greatly prized in antiquity because the colour didn't easily fade, but instead became brighter with weathering and sunlight. Its importance was such that the name Phoenicia means 'land of purple.' It came in various shades, the most prized being that of "blackish clotted blood". True Tyrian purple, like most high-chroma pigments, cannot be accurately displayed on a computer display.

A Tunisian man has pieced together a secret linked to ancient emperors: how to make a prized purple dye using the guts of a sea snail. No historical documents clearly detail the production methods used. Production of the dye was among the main sources of wealth for the ancient Phoenicians, and then for the Carthaginian and Roman empires. Whole economies depended upon it's production. Even today the dye can cost $2,800 per gram from some European traders, and prices can reach up to $4,000. To obtain one gram of pure purple dye, 100 kg of the ill smelling murex need to be shelled.

Largest gold coin of the ancient world - Eucratides I

The largest gold coin of the ancient world is the 20 stater minted by the Greco-Bactrian King Eucratides I (172–145 BC). Weighing 169.2 grams (nearly 5.5 troy ounces) of high-purity gold it is considered a masterpiece of Hellenistic numismatic art. The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was an independent Hellenistic state (circa 256–120 BCE) that ruled supreme for over a century. It was centered largely in modern day Afghanistan/Uzbekistan. Eucratides I was the last great Greco-Bactrian ruler.

Reverse depicts the Dioscuri (twins Castor and Pollux) on horseback, wielding spears and holding palm branches, surrounded by the Greek legend "ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΕΥΚΡΑΤΙΔΟΥ" (King Eucratides the Great) The large, valuable coin was likely not for circulation, and was probably gifted to those close to the king. Only one authentic example is known to survive. It was discovered in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, in 1867, and was subsequently acquired by Emperor Napoleon III. Today, it is part of the permanent collection at the BnF Cabinet des Médailles in Paris.

Gold of the 12 Caesars

The 12 Caesars gold coins are a set of Roman coins featuring portraits of the first twelve Roman emperors. Known as the “Julio-Claudian and Flavian” emperors, they ruled the empire from 49 BCE to 96 CE. The most sought after and among the most valuable of the Twelve Gold Caesars is that of Julius Caesar. Owning an example, in any condition, is an accomplishment.

Aureus struck at a military mint, c.43 B.C. It bears the portraits of Julius Caesar and Octavian (Augustus). Extremely rare. At least $50k. Julius Caesar AV Aureus. Rome, 45 BC. Draped bust of Victory to right. 7.98g, NGC graded AU★ 5/5 - 5/5 among the finest known examples. 36,000 GBP in 2022.

Aureus of Augustus struck at Lugdunum, c.15–12 B.C. Gold Aureus of Augustus struck around 27 to 18 BC. There are 22 surviving examples of heifer reverse aureus, of which 15 are in museums. The coin made 480,000 Euros in 2019 making it one of the world’s most expensive Roman coins.

Tiberius (A.D. 14–37) struck at Lugdunum. Caligula (A.D. 37–41) Aureus struck at Rome, A.D. 37–38. Caligula's portrait appears with his deceased mother, Agrippina Senior.

Claudius (A.D. 41–54) Aureus struck at Rome, A.D. 46–47. Nero (A.D. 54–68) Aureus struck at Rome, A.D. 62–63.

Galba (A.D. 68–69) Aureus struck at Rome. Otho (A.D. 69) Aureus struck at Rome.

Vitellius (A.D. 69) Aureus struck at Rome. Vespasian (A.D. 69–79) Aureus struck at Rome.

Titus (A.D. 79–81) Aureus struck at Rome, A.D. 75. This coin was struck while Titus was Caesar under his father. Domitian (A.D. 81–96) Aureus struck at Rome, A.D. 76.

The 12 Caesars in silver denarii are much more attainable. Once obtained, collectors usually try to upgrade each coin to the best available. Imperial denarii will be the most expensive, provincial issues will cost less.