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Leicestershire Claims Oldest Roman Coin in Britain!

Posted on 30/01/10

Community Services

28 January 2010

Leicestershire Claims Oldest Roman Coin in Britain!

What is believed to be the oldest Roman coin ever found in Britain makes its museum debut, 2220 years after it was made. The silver denarius coin is now on display at Harborough Museum, Market Harborough alongside other coins that were excavated with it. It is 4 years older than the coin previously thought to be the oldest surviving example.

The coin was found during excavation of a site near the village of Hallaton, Leicestershire. It is one of over 5000 Iron Age and Roman coins found at the site, believed to be a Late Iron Age shrine of the Corieltavi tribe dating to the 1st century AD. Archaeologists believe the coins were buried as gifts to the gods with other incredible finds including a richly decorated Roman cavalry helmet, a unique silver bowl and the remains of over 300 pigs.

The finds were declared Treasure and acquired by Leicestershire County Council for permanent display at Harborough Museum which opened its specially designed Hallaton Treasure Gallery in September 2009.

During February, children who manage to hunt out the newly displayed coin will be rewarded with a free gift!

David Sprason, County Council Cabinet Member for Communities and Wellbeing said: “Leicestershire boasts the largest number of Iron Age coins ever professionally excavated in Britain in the Hallaton Treasure. To also have the oldest Roman coin ever found is something very special.”

The coin, a silver denarius dated to 211 BC, depicts the goddess Roma wearing her characteristic helmet on the front. The mythical twins, Castor and Pollux, sit astride galloping horses on the reverse. The type of coin known as a denarius was first struck in Rome in 211 BC, making the Hallaton coin a very early version. A soldier or unskilled worker living in the 1st century AD could expect to earn 1 denarius for a day’s work.

How this coin came into the possession of the local Corieltavi tribe is an intriguing mystery. The fact that the coin is fairly worn perhaps suggests the preceding 250 years were spent on the continent, only later arriving in Britain in the purse of an invading Roman soldier post AD 43. However, some archaeologists speculate that Roman Republican coins such as this were finding their way into Britain before the Roman conquest and are evidence of exchange through trade or diplomacy. If this is so, then the Hallaton coin is evidence of early Roman contact in the East Midlands, an area previously seen as something of a backwater during the Late Iron Age.

The previous oldest known Roman coin found in Britain was discovered by metal detectorist Malcolm Langford and recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme last year. It dates to 207 BC.

Background Notes

For further details about the Treasure Project and Harborough Museum, see the following background details.

• To contact Harborough Museum phone (01858) 821085 or email harboroughmuseum@leics.gov.uk
• Please visit our website www.leics.gov.uk/HarboroughMuseum
• www.facebook.com/HarboroughMuseum
• http://twitter.com/LeicsMuseums
• http://leicestershiremuseums.wordpress.com

Harborough Museum is operated in partnership by Leicestershire County Council, Harborough District Council and the Market Harborough Historical Society.

The Southeast Leicestershire Treasure is the archive of material produced by several stages of archaeological work undertaken by local community archaeologists and University of Leicester Archaeological Services. The site proved to be an internationally important ritual site dating mostly to the generations before and after the Roman Conquest of Britain in the 1st century AD.

The purpose of the project is purchase, conserve, interpret and promote the Southeast Leicestershire Treasure. The cost of the project is £933,872 which includes purchasing the finds, conserving the finds, displays at Harborough Museum and at Hallaton Museum, two touring exhibitions, web based resources, workshops for schools and community groups, and events for the public.

The project is supported by grants from The Heritage Lottery Fund of £650,600, £100,000 from The Art Fund, the UK’s leading independent art charity, £35,000 from the Museums and Art Galleries Improvements Fund, £35,000 from the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, The Headley Trust, Renaissance East Midlands and local contributions from the Friends of Leicester and Leicestershire Museums, the Leicestershire Museums Archaeological Fieldwork Group and the County Council, as well as private individuals. The support of Harborough District Council is also gratefully acknowledged.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From our great museums and historic buildings to local parks and beauty spots or recording and celebrating traditions, customs and history, HLF grants open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy. Since its conception, HLF has supported 26,000 projects allocating over £4 billion across the UK.

The Art Fund is the UK’s leading independent art charity. It offers grants to help UK museums and galleries enrich their collections; campaigns on behalf of museums and their visitors; and promotes the enjoyment of art.  It is entirely funded from public donations and has 80,000 members. Since 1903 the charity has helped museums and galleries all over the UK secure 860,000 works of art for their collections. Recent achievements include: helping secure Titian’s Diana and Actaeon for the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Gallery, London in February 2009 with a grant of £1 million; helping secure Anthony d’Offay’s collection, ARTIST ROOMS, for Tate and National Galleries of Scotland in February 2008 with a grant of £1million; and running the ‘Buy a Brushstroke’ public appeal which raised over £550,000 to keep Turner’s Blue Rigi watercolour in the UK. For more information contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888 or visit www.artfund.org.

The Art Fund is a Registered Charity No. 209174

The MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund is a government fund, established at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in 1881 as part of its nationwide work. The annual grants budget, currently £900,000, is provided by the Museums, Libraries, Archives Council (MLA). The Fund supports the acquisition of objects relating to the arts, literature, and history by regional museums, record offices and specialist libraries in England and Wales. Each year it considers some 250 applications and awards grants to around100 organisations, enabling acquisitions of over £4million to go ahead.

Visit the website at www.vam.ac.uk/purchasegrantfund

The Headley Museums Archaeological Acquisition Fund has been established by the Headley Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts. Its trustees realise the great difficulties many regional and local museums find in raising the money to buy archaeological artefacts. They are also aware of the proliferation of finds as a consequence of the success of the Portable Antiquities Scheme. The Headley initiative is intended to help museums secure and display notable finds. The Headley Scheme runs alongside and in collaboration with the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund. Visit the website at www.headley-archaeology.org.uk

• Further details about the Treasure Project:

• For more information about Harborough Museum and the Southeast Leicestershire Treasure Project, please contact Helen Sharp, Project Officer, at Harborough Museum, on 01858 821087 or email helen.sharp@leics.gov.uk, or Frank Hargrave, Temporary Keeper of Harborough Museum, also on 01858 821087 or email frank.hargrave@leics.gov.uk

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