SZ. BURGER ALICE: LATE ROMAN MONEY CIRCULATION IN SOUTH-PANNONIA / Régészeti Füzetek II/22. (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Budapest, 1981

MINTS

III. MINTS After the processing of the material of 17 mints we have obtained a lot of new, objective and reliable data. Of the extensive information here two problems are to be dealt with in detail. One of the problems is the question of the so-called 'near-by' mints. While processing the coin hoard of Kecel of limited pieces (66 in all) ALFÖLDI stated the following: "In this small hoard the preponderance of the mints of the Eastern cities is immediately obvious; the Western ones are very slightly represented or are completely missing. This is characteristic and important because it shows the direction of monetary circulation. According to old experience in each find the products of the nearest mint are preponderant, while the proportion of the rest depends on the frequency or weakness of commercial links. 'Jl ELMER follows the same outlook, without referring to the above source.*- PEKÁRY refers to ALFÖLDI in connection with the monetary circulation of Aquincum, ^ MOCSY refers to Pekáry's opinion and to MAZURAN, when he writes: "Neben SISCIA sind im IV. Jh. nur noch die Münzen der östlichen Münzstätte häufig. "4 According to LÁNYI'

s view "coins produced by the Eastern mints and those of the Balkans are represented to a significant proportion in the Pannonian material. In the mean time even the maximum circulation of western coins does not reach 5 per cent of the whole in Pannónia. Thus the circulation of coins presupposes contacts with such regions the Balkans and the Eastern provinces - from where we do not know 4th century material of cemeteries. "-' On this basis Mócsy writes the following: "It has been known for long that a considerable part of the treasure hoards and stray finds consist of coins struck in the mints of the provinces of the Balkans and of the East, whereas the Italian and West-European mints, and even that of AQU are not represented to a degree worth mentioning. 1,(

3 SEY represents the following view in connection with the monetary circulation of Brigetio (4th ct. ): "In the 4th century in the distribution of coins by mints the theory of the nearest ones is realized. In the stray and treasure finds SIS stands in the first place and AQU and THE are alternately in the second place. At the stray finds the third most frequent mint is SIR, whereas in the case of treasure hoards it is CON 7 and THE."' R. ALFÖLDI writes: "Je weiter die Münzstätte liegt, umso weniger erscheinen ihre Produkte an einem Fundort. In the possession of the material processed in detail subsequently (Figs, 7-20) we may state that in South Pannónia, in the period under survey several concrete trends can be identified in connection with monetary circulation that are contrary to the general observations quoted above. Essentially it is not the theory of the 'near-by' mints, that is of decisive importance in the research of monetary circulation, but always the relationship between the time and the type of site. This observation is supported even by the study of the mints by praeiectures

. By analysing the functioning of the mints by praeiectures one should differentiate by the individual, main periods. In the period of PHASE A (A.D. 324-364) the main role in the administrative system should be sought in the person of the Emperor in power and in the location of the respective mint in a praefecture. To this the best example is the study of the monetary circulation of Constans and Constantius II between A.D. 341 and 345, or the period of 351 -354. In these periods we could identify the most characteristic data of the types and kinds of coins supplementing one another in the functioning of the mints (cf, p. 38-43). During PHASE B (A. D. 364 -375) the distribution of mints by praeiectures is no more decisive. By then the main point was production in extremely large quantities. There remained only 2 main types of the value of AE 3 in circulation, these centenionales were mainly produced by ROM - AQU in the West and by SIS - THE in the East. The mints of the East, playing such an important role during PHASE A were pushed to the background. Emphasis was laid on the encrease of production and on the undisturbed operation of the mints. In the case of our territory SIS obtained increased importance at that time, just as well as the mint of THE, which had the biggest production subsequently during PHASE C (375-378). 101