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Message:: [QUOTE="John Conduitt, post: 8078655, member: 109923"]I think you can blame the Anglo-Saxons. When the Romans left Britain in 410, the supply of coins was cut off. No-one really knows what the British did then, but it involved clipping siliquae down to the size of the barbarous issues used by their European cousins. They used the clippings to make more coins, and to make ingots as they shifted to using bullion instead. British hoards from the time can be 30% clipped, and most hoards of Roman siliquae are found in Britain. Although since no new coins were being added to circulation, it isn't clear when they were deposited - the 390s, 400s, 410s, even the 460s have been suggested. I'm sure people would've liked to have clipped denarii too, but the Romans were in control of the currency and wouldn't have allowed such blatant clipping. By contrast, the Anglo-Saxons seem to have done it centrally. Arcadius Siliqua, 395-402[ATTACH=full]1402459[/ATTACH]Mediolanum. Silver, 11mm, 0.66g (Should be 15mm, 0.95g). DN ARCADI-VS PF AVG, pearl diademed, draped, cuirassed bust right. VIRTVS ROMANORVM, Roma seated left on cuirass/throne holding inverted spear and Victory on globe; mintmark MDPS (RIC X, 1227). Excavated in Yorkshire. Of course, it's also easier to clip a thin siliqua than a denarius...[/QUOTE]