Contextualising Counterfeits: Roman Coin Moulds in Britain and the Channel Islands

Hingley, Richard

Abstract

This paper addresses the archaeological contexts of the clay moulds which were used to produce copies of Roman coins in third-century Britain. Research has focused primarily upon the technology and chronology of the use of moulds to produce copies of coins. The discarded remains of the used moulds are usually considered as 'waste' items derived from an industrial process. This paper focuses attention on the information for the archaeological contexts in which clay coin moulds were deposited. Using the best recorded finds, it builds upon earlier suggestions that disused moulds were regularly discarded in boundary locations (settlement boundaries, field boundaries, drainage features, shafts/wells, coastal locations and disused structures). It is proposed that the magical and ritual associations of production meant that the clay moulds derived from the copying operations, in addition to the coins that were produced, required careful handling.

Citation

Hingley, R. (2023). Contextualising Counterfeits: Roman Coin Moulds in Britain and the Channel Islands. Britannia: A Journal of Romano-British and Kindred Studies, 54, 189-225. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X23000363

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 18, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Nov 24, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-11
• Deposit Date: Jun 19, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 19, 2023
• Journal: Britannia: A Journal of Romano-British and Kindred Studies
• Print ISSN: 0068-113X
• Electronic ISSN: 1753-5352
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 54
• Pages: 189-225
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X23000363
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1171325