Kelly recently visited Mildenhall Museum in Suffolk to examine a hoard of 96 coins found nearby at Worlington. Like many metal-detected discoveries, the hoard was recovered by a metal detectorist in parts over several years.
Most coins from the hoard are heavily clipped leaving only the bust and small or no traces of the legend. In the images above you can see just how much of a coin is lost by clipping. The coin on the left is a lightly clipped coin of Honorius minted in 395–402 at Milan. The coin on the right is a heavily clipped siliqua of Valens dating to 364–367 and all of the obverse legend has been removed. The severe levels of clipping coupled with the high number of coins minted during the period 395-402 under the emperors Arcadius and Honorius strongly suggest that the hoard was deposited later in the fifth century.
An irregular gold solidus was also discovered along with the silver coins and is an unusual feature of the hoard. There is an error in the spelling of Arcadius (AACΛDIΛS) on the obverse of the coin and the reverse legend reads ‘CONCOADIA AVCCЄ’ rather than CONCORDIA AVGGG which appears on genuine issues. The gold content of the coin ranges between 79-86% suggesting that the coin was intended to be used in the same way as genuine gold coinage. In the top left corner of the obverse of the coin (at 11 o’clock), there is an indent in the edge of the coin – could this perhaps be evidence of a metal test?
