Why is This Spanish Constantine-Era Hoard So Special?

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Bart9349, Mar 9, 2020.

  1. Bart9349

    Bart9349 Junior Member

    (I'm sorry if this is a possible repost, but I couldn't find the original discussion.)

    I understand finding any coin hoard is exciting and the size and location of this hoard might be unusual.

    Ancient Roman coins discovered by construction workers in Spain

    "... Maximian and Constantine [coins] are worth at least several million euros.”

    That said, the video and article suggested that these coins are unique and valuable. Other than the size of the hoard and its historical context and location, I'm not sure that these coins are so newsworthy.

    Did I miss something?:


    AMMphora.jpg

    AMMphoraB.jpg




    https://abc6onyourside.com/news/nat...s-discovered-by-construction-workers-in-spain

    The hoard, nevertheless, looks like it would be interesting to assess more closely.

    Sorry for the possible respost.


    g.


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    Last edited: Mar 9, 2020
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  3. paddyman98

    paddyman98 I'm a professional expert in specializing! Supporter

    I believe the Romons occupied Spain at some point. There are Roman aqueducts there.

    Oh what do I know :facepalm:..:hilarious:
     
    ominus1 likes this.
  4. Orielensis

    Orielensis Well-Known Member

    The real value here obviously are the historical conclusions archeologists may be able to draw from this find, which appears remarkable due to its size and composition. Since these coins apparently came straight from the mint, they might, for example, yield insights into die life and wear or other details of coin production. I'd also be interested in what mint(s) they are from – this might tell us something about how money was brought into circulation during the tetrarchy. It will be exciting to (hopefully) see more information published at some point.

    Since it won't enter the market, asking fo the financial value of this hoard is purely academic – but let's do it:

    My own late tetrarchy folles weigh between 7.5 and 11g. Let's be generous and assume that the coins in the hoard have a median weight of 10g. That means that there must be about 60.000 coins in the 600 kg hoard. Personally, I'd be happy to pay about $30 for an uncirculated high grade example of a tetrachical follis like the ones shown in the pictures. I'm definitely not a big spender, so I assume most other ancient collectors would agree to a price somewhere in this ballpark, too. Thus multiplying the estimated number of coins in the hoard with the estimated per coin value, I come up with a sum of $1.800.000, making this quite a valuable find.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2020
  5. Pellinore

    Pellinore Well-Known Member

    That is, if you manage to find enough buyers to go for 60.000 coins. How many years would that take?
    I'm sure prices would go down. You often see this when large hoards are found (for instance, now with Athenian tetradrachms).
     
  6. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    They don't look uncirculated in the photo. Check the one on the upper left in the 2nd photo. Plus, one looks like it came from the Ticinum mint while another looks like it's from London. So I think you should take what the narrator says about "never been circulated" with a grain of salt. I mean, he didn't even get Constantius' name right, calling him Constantine.
     
    svessien and Roman Collector like this.
  7. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Very interesting. I would pay a bit more than $30 for a good one, so my valuation would be somewhere between $2 and $3 million. Of course, 60,000 coins going up for sale would flood the market...
     
    Nicholas Molinari likes this.
  8. CaptHenway

    CaptHenway Survivor

    Worthy of numismatic study as a group, but individually they look like junk box coins.
     
  9. Andrew McMenamin

    Andrew McMenamin Nerva You Mind

    Orielensis is correct. I purchased several of coins from the hoard, and have noted obvious die wear varieties. The coins I have are from Thessalonica and Heraclea. The Celators of the coins were obviously very talented - they're beautiful.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2020
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  10. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    I didn't know they were already on the market. Who is selling them? I'd like to buy a few.
     
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  11. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    We can not discuss this with any validity unless and until some publication of what was there is made. If all the coins were from one mint and all the coins were Maximianus and Constantius I as Caesar, we might learn some interesting things about die states and mint operations but nothing about how the coins served in the economy. There really are not all that many compared to what must have been made at each of the several mints on each of the many days that the pair ruled in that part of the empire. It would be interesting first to know if the group included coins in the name of the Eastern pair of Tetrarchs (Diocletian and Galerius) since the wesstern mints did strike for them also. If the hoard consists of 60,000 coins of one mint all made in one month (week?, day??) it will tell us completely different things than an accumulated hoard of circulating coins like the 81,000 silvers of 60 rulers from Reka Devnia. I hope the Spanish authorities comes up with the funding necessary to pay their workers to clean and classify all these. These jobs will cost a lot and they won't clean themselves. Realistically, I expect them to park the coins in a museum basement until long after I am gone.

    I own no PT mintmark coin of the pair. acsearch has them.
    https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1241057
    [​IMG]

    https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=1896457
    [​IMG]
     
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