BÍRÓ-SEY KATALIN: COINS FROM IDENTIFIED SITES OF BRIGETIO AND THE QUESTION OF LOCAL CURRENCY / Régészeti Füzetek II/18. (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Budapest, 1977)

I. INTRODUCTION

The decrease of scattered coins by the end of the 280s and beginning of 29_Os harmonizes with the second destruction of the camp, and with the two hidden treasures (Find No. IV and V). Coinage increases at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Only bronze coins (antoniniani, foliis, half-follis, centenionalis and AE 4/ are in the hoards, and among the scattered coins. There is strong improvement in currency from 33o A. D. , which decreases a little by the end of the years 34o A. D. The hiding of the treasure, closing with coins struck between 346 and 35o A. D. (Find No. VI) cannot be linked to any event. Hoards and scatteres coins, both, mark the boom due to the construction of the time of Valentinian. There is a centenionalis find (Find No. VII) from Brigetio from this period, which, if we accept the Siscian chronology broken down by years, closes with coins struck in 372 A. D. Another centenionalis find covers the same period (Find No. VIII), which closes with coins struck in Aqulieai between Arcadius and Honorius in 393 to 4o8 A. D. respectively. The scattered coins and the two finds ail show, that there are only a very few coins of Siscia from the year 373 A. D. in Brigetio. 1,5% of Find No. VIII and 2,8% of the scattered coins date from the period after 375 A. D. The precisely identifiable coinage of this period shows, that, although only slightly, there was an influx of money into the province until 395 A. D. but there are many which could be dated only by reverse types, and were not quite identifiable which mint could have struck them until 423 A. D. The theory of close-by mints is valid for the 4th century A.D. in the distribution of coinage by mints. Siscia is in the first place, Aquileia and Thessaloniki alternate for the second place with their scattered coinage and hoards. The third most frequent mint for scattered coins is Sirmium, in Finds No. VI-VII it is Constantinople, and it is Thessaloniki for Find No. VIII. 27