Folia archeologica 25.

Katalin Bíró-Sey: A find of centenionales from Brigetio

A FIND OF CENTENIONALES FROM BRIGETIO KATALIN BÍRÓ-SEY The find was bestowed on the Numismatic Section of the Hungarian National Museum by László Torday, who acquired it about 1930. According to the bestower, the coins came from a hoard' this is attested also by the state of the coins. Previous to their cleaning a homogenous layer of soil and patina, covering the surface of the coins, was particularly well visible.

1 Among the 594 bronze coins of the hoard dupondii, bronze antoniniani and AE 2, resp. AE 4 occurred as well, but the find consisted in its bulk of folles and centenionales. A Greek bronze, not identifiable, and a Byzantine one were included also among the coins.- The closing of the find is to be put to the period between 367 and 375, or, more exactly, to the year 372. Taken apart from some dupondii of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, to be considered as quite sporadic, the occurrence of coins becomes more regular with the folles of Licinius. The find shows a coherent coin mass from 330 on to the year of its closing. The folles of Constantine the Great and his sons occur in an increasing quantity till the beginning of the 340-s. Here a smaller recession is observale in the monetary circulation, which is characteristic for the end of this decade as well. A larger amount of currency is to be counted with at the end of the 350-s, during the reign of Constantine II, later in the period when Valentinian I and Valens reigned separately at first, later jointedly with Gratian. The closing issues are given by the centenionales of Valentinian, marked GLORIA ROMANORVM BSISC Q Д and those of Valens, marked SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE ASISC К Q 1 The find is registered in the Numismatic Section of the Hungarian National Museum under Acc. no. 5(1973. 1—344. I should like to express here my gratitude to the bestower of the find, Mr. László Torday. It is a regrettable fact that we have no date of the nearer find circumstances and of the exact site, except that the hoard was found in the territory of Szőny. 2 This Byzantine coin could not belong to the find but must have got there by mistake at the collector; this coin, indefiniable anyway, cannot influence the chronological statements. 10*