Code: 12421
This is an ancient Roman silver Siliqua of emperor Arcadius dating to 383 - 408 AD.
Obverse: DN ARCADI-VS PF AVG "Our Lord Arcadius Pious Fortunate August (Emperor)" pearl-diademed draped and cuirassed bust right.
Reverse: VIRTVS ROMANORVM "Courage of the Romans" Roma seated left on cuirass, holding Victory on globe and inverted spear.
This coin would have been included in the last official shipment of silver to Britain before Rome abandoned all interest in the province in 410 A.D. As such, many of these coins display clipping well into the Saxon period. This example has purposefully been clipped down to the portrait with very little inscription left. This phenomenon is only found in England and is thought to have been officially sanctioned by the Saxon government to continue as the coinage of the realm until new official coins could be minted. The clipped silver is used to make further coins. Until 2000 AD, very little was known about this type of coin, but with over 100 being recorded and found by metal detectorists, far more material for research is available. See also LIN-725431 for further discussion. It is a good example of the type, with a nice portrait.
CULTURE: ROMAN.
DENOMINATION: Siliqua
MATERIAL: Silver
DATE: 383 - 408 AD
SIZE: 15mm x 12mm
WEIGHT: 0.9 grams
ATTRIBUTION: RIC IX 32b.3
PROVENANCE: Ex. Private Collection, Sherborne, United Kingdom
