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

LATE ROMAN MONEY CIRCULATION IN SOUTH-PANNONIA

Turning to the brief period of PHASE C (coins from 375 to 37

8)

f only 106 pieces could be grouped under this heading out of the 18 264 pieces of late Roman bronze coins of our material processed here. During this period monetary circulation had become scarce in our material: the annual average is 35 pieces (Fig. 66). Between the years 375-378 only the product of the mints of LUG, ARE, ROM, AQU, SIS and THE can be traced in our material. The coins of this period were found only in SOPIANAE among the settlements besides the closed finds, and occasionally some pieces in the material of GÖLLE (Iovia?). In the graves no coins were found that could be dated to this period. At the monetary circulation of the years 375-37

8 it should be emphasized that out of the 106 pieces 62 coins were struck in the mint of THE (Fig. 26), the rest were struck in mint of Gaul (Fig. 23), of Italy (Fig. 24) and of Siscia (Fig. 25). The study of the hardly three years of PHASE C shows that even after the death of Valentinian I his coins were issued for some time. The coins of Valens and Gratian can be found just as well as those of Valentinian II from 375 onwards. Including the sites of the earlier province of Pannónia that fall outside our borders at present, some scarce monetary circulation could still be identified in some sites of Pannónia Prima, Valeria, Pannónia Secunda and of the Barbaricum (Fig. 3). In connection with the suddenly diminished monetary circulation of PHASE C ELMER is of the view that after the death of Valentinian I the mint of SIS was closed down (388/389) and essentially only the mints of ROM and AQU were functioning. 1 ^ Studying the phenomenon of diminishing monetary circulation SOPRONI relates it to the year 375, when Valeria was given up. ^ The question was dealt with also by ALFÖLDI, 1

4 R. ALFÖLDI

1

5 and MOCSY. 1

6 The closing down of the mint of SIS in 388/389 cannot influence our period between 375/378, therefore the causes of the ebbing current of coins have to be sought elsewhere. I have in mind the insecure economic base as a consequence of-war, insecurity of an economic nature, which accompanied the depreciation of money. Quick inflationary

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, phenomena following the events may have induced the people to 'temporarily' hide the public and private pay boxes, thus creating the closed finds. 1 53