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Berichljen van de
Rijksdienst
voor
het
Oudheidkundig odemonderzoek
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A F K O R T I N G E N / A B B R E V I A T I O N S
AW N Archeologische Werkgem eenschapvoor
Nederland (Archaeological Work Group of the
Netherlands)
BABesch. Bulletin van
d e
V ereeniging
tot
bevorderingder
kennis van de) antieke beschaving
BAI Biologisch-Archaeologisch
Instituut
Groningen
BH Brabantsheem
j
Banner
Jahrbiicher,
BfKjNOB
Bulletin van deln
Koninklijke)
Nederland s ch)efn) Oudheidkundige fn) Bond
BRGK Bericht der Romisch-Germanischen Kommission
BROB
Berichten van de Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkun-
dig Bodemonderzoek
IPP Albert Egges van Giffen Instituut voor Pre- en
Protohistorie
Amsterdam
JMP Jaarboek voor Munt-
en Penningkunde
JNG Jahrbuchfur Numismatik
und Geldgeschichte
JRGZM
Jahrbuch des Romisch-Germamschen
Zentralmu-
seums Mainz
NAFN Neue A usgrabungen und
Forschungen
in
Niedersachsen
NAP Nieuw Amsterdams Peil (Dutch D atum L evel)
NKNOB Nieuwsbulletin van de Koninklijke Nederlandse
Oudheidkundige Bond
NN U
Nachrichtenaus
Niedersachsens Urgeschichte
OML Oudheidkundige medede
e)
lingen
uit het
Rijksrftu-
seum van Oudheden te Leiden
RMO
Rijksmuseum
van
Oudheden Leiden
ROB Rijksdienst voor het Oudheidkundig Bodemon-
derzoek, Amersfoort
VORG
Verslagen en mededeelingen van de Vereeniging tot
beoefeningvan Overijsselschreglengeschiedenis
N O O T
Het aardewerk is op schaal
1:4
afgebeeld, tenzij anders aan-
gegeven; de profielen van het handgevormde aardewerk zijn
wit, die van gedraaid aardewerk
zijn
zwart getekend.
Unle ss otherwise stated, the po ttery is drawn to a scale of
1:4;
th e
profiles
of
hand-made pottery
ar e
represented
in
white,
of
wheel-thrown pottery
in
black.
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Staatsuitgeverij- s-Gravenhag e ISBN 9 0
12
0
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Berichten van de R ijksdien st
voor het
O udheidkundig
Bodem onderzoek
Proceedings of the State Service
for Archaeological Investigations
in the Netherlands
jaargang
27,
1977
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REDACTIE
W.A. van Es,
J.F.
va n
Regteren Altena,
P. J.
Woltering
e n W . C . Mank
Adres
:
Rijksdienst voor
h et
Oudheidkundig
Bodemon derzoek, Kleine Haag
2,
3811
HE Amersfoort,
Nederland
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I N H O U D W.J.H.
Verwers
North
Brabant
in
Roman
and
Early-Medieval
Times II: The
Merovingian
Cemetery of
Alphen
Reconsidered 165
W.A. van Es and A.D. Verlinde Overijssel in
Roman
and
Early Medieval
Times 7
Richard Hodges
Trade and
Urban Origins
in
Dark Age England: An Archaeological Critique
LJ.A.M.
van den
Hurk
The Tumuli
from
the of the
Evidence 191
Roman Period
of
Esch Province
of North
Bra-
bant III 91 H. Stoepker Medieval Parish Churches in
North-
eastern North
Brabant
and
Limburg
I 217
P. Vons The Identification of Heavily Corroded
Roman Coins
Found at
Velsen 139
H.J.M.
Burgers
A
Pottery-Drawing Device
237
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P. VONS
The
Identif ication
of
H eavily Corroded Ro m an
Coins
Found
at
V elsen:
An
attempt
at a closer dating of the early Roman settlement 'Velsen I'*
I N T R O D U C T I O N
During 1972 members
of the
AW N Velsen group
1
discov-
ered
a new
site
of
Roman archaeological
finds in
Velsen
(fig. i),
i
km
southeast
of the
known site
of
Roman
refuse
near
the
Velsen tunnel under
the
North
Sea
Canal. The ter ra sigillata foun d there might date the
beginning
of
this
ne w
site
to the
time
of Tiberius;
potters'
stamps w ere found from the region of Arezzo
2
of Cn.
Ateius, Xanthus,
and
others. Originally
th e
site
was dated c. AD 15-30, bu t some later pieces of terra
sigillata pointed
to the
possibility
of
Roman presence
between AD
20-5
5.
3
The above-mentioned new site is called Velsen I in
order to distinguish it chronologically from the more
northw estern site Velsen II, which, also on the grounds
of terra
sigillata,
4
dates from the Claudian period. Since
1972 the AW N Velsen group, together with
th e
IFF,
5
have
undertaken excavations
on the new
site Velsen
I. Abun-
dant finds have appeared and many rows of wooden
posts and post-discolorations have been unearthed.
Until
now no
castellum
h as
been located
but a
configu-
ration of row s of posts has been exposed wh ich in dicate
that a
Roman harbour
had
existed
on the
bank
of the
ancient cou rse of the R iver
IJ.
Roman water-wells found
in
the vicinity of the harbour strengthened the suspicion
that
a Roman settlement could not be very far away.
6
C O I N S
From
time
to
time bronze
and
copper coins were foun
among other Roman finds. These coins
are so
corrode
that they h ave become
'lumps'
of corrosion, and
'lump
was a word commonly used by members of the work
group. A few denarii, also heavily corroded, came
light.
Excavations near Velsen
II in
1964
and
1970
in the
sam
way produced heavily oxidized coins.
In
1972, whe
th e
first
coin 'lumps' made their appearance and arretin
sigillata also appeared, it was of especial importan ce
know in which period to place the coins to support and
complete the data based upon the finds of terra sigillat
Perhaps a more accurate dating might be made a
Velsen I. The
first coin
'lumps'
found
in
1972 were sen
to the
Royal Coin Cabinet,
The Hague, for
identific
tion. Unfortun ately,
th e
answer
w as
negative. Corrosio
had damaged t he coins so badly
that
they were unident
fiable. It w as
assumed
that
they were Roman asses fro
th e
first
or second century.
7
I D E N T I F I A B L E COINS
The disappointment of
failing
to
identify
these coi
faded
after some years. In 1973, however a perfect u nd
maged aureus was found,
8
struck under Augustus 14-1
* The R oma n coins foun d at Velsen II are discussed in an
Appendix (pp . 158 ff. ) .
1 Archeologische W erkgemeenschap voor Nederland
(Archaeological W ork Group
for the
Netherlands) .
2 From Arezzo
or a
Gallic branch.
3 Glasbergen/Van Lith 1977,
14.
4 Glasbergen/Van Lith
1977, 5;
Glasbergen a.o. 1974;
Bogaers/Riiger 1974, 30 ff . ; Vons 1974, 64, 68 (Appendix II
5 Albe rt Egges va n Giffen Institute fo r Pre- an d Protohi
tory, University
o f
Amsterdam.
6
Schimmer 1977.
7
Information provided
by the
Royal Coin Cabinet,
12.7.
and 21.8.72.
8
No. 7 on the coin list.
139
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B C in Lyon
( L u g d u n u m ; R I C
327). Bu t such coins
remained in circulation throughout th e Roman Empire,
so
that this find, in spite of its magnificence, cannot
help
to
date Velsen
I.
Depending upon
th e
site
and the
sort of metal, less corroded coins sometimes appea red,
an d
thus research
w as
undertaken
on 9
September
1973
on a corroded plated denarius; it was identified during
research but it
disintegrated
after th e
investigations
had
been carried out.
9
A small, barely corroded coin, found
in
1976,
was
identi-
fied by the Royal Coin Cabinet as Celtic, possibly
minted in England, and dated pre-first century
A D
1 0
(photographs
la
and ib) .
N E W M E T H O D S O F
R E S E A R C H
As said above,
at the
Velsen
II
excavations
in 1964 and
1970
'lumps'
of corrosion were
also
found. W ith some
luck, two or three coins were separated from the
ing of corrosion and this layer was partly instr
in
identifying
the
find.
A
successful method s
be to
immerse
th e
coin
'lump'
in hot
water a
expansion had taken place, to
open
it. In th
of 1975
this method was applied to a lightly
plated denarius.
The
result
w as
startling (ph
2) .
11
The denarius was minted in the reign of
c. AD
13 (RIC
355 ) . As a result of this succe
that had been discarded because research w as
to be fruitless were examined once again.
The corroded 'lumps' were to be cut open and
was
to be
extracted from between
th e
front
layers of corrosion, even at the risk of sacrific
remained of the coin.
A coin
'lump '
consists of two parts:
a a coin or the rem ains of one.
b the coating, sometimes thick, of oxide in w
coin rests.
9 No. 6 on the
coin list.
10 No. 61 on the coin list.
n No. n on the
coin list.
140
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P.
V O N S /
The Identification of Heavily
Corroded
Roman
Coins
Found at Vels
Experience, an d the research already undertaken by the
Royal Coin Cabinet c onfirmed it, shows that with some
exceptions the remains of a coin almost never show
traces of relief, whilst the chance that the inside of the
corrosion
will
show traces
of
relief
is not
only greater,
but in
terms
of the
quality
of
those traces,
is far
better.
The
coin 'lump ' has, therefore,
to be
opened
in
such
a
way
that
th e
obverse
an d
reverse layers
of
corrosion
can
be
removed
in
their entirety.
Together
they form
one whole, for the edge of the coin is also covered by
a thick layer of corrosion. The first task is to split the
corrosion arou nd the edge of the coin by using a de ntist's
diamond-pow dered drill, cutting
one or two
millimetres
into the corro sion, not too deeply for fear of damaging
an y
letters
still
present
on the
edge
of the
corrosion layer.
W hen this has been
successfully
completed and after
much experimentation a good method w as found, the
coin
is
sometimes immersed
in hot
water
to
which
a
synthetic washing-lotion is added to remove one layer
of
corrosion.
There
was often little or nothing visible on the corrosion
layer because parts of the decomposed coin adhered to
it. Extremely careful and rigorously carried out cleaning
took place using dental equipment, a small bellows, and
a large magnifying glass
on a
stand, which left both
hands free. The layer of corrosion was laid upon a disc
covered with black velvet and illuminated with raked
lighting. Continuous turn ing and observatio n of the cor-
rosion layer resulted in distinguishing a certain
relief.
One disadvantage of this kind of observation occurred
in connection with letters which they appeared on the
corrosion, they did so in mirror image. Recognition of
the text was made easier by using the reverse lens from
the view finde r of a camera . The observation of a layer
of corrosion
is
time-consuming
an d
some remains were
often put to one side to be looked at a few days later
and then, suddenly, identified, in some cases by a small
relief.
F o u r
possibilities can now be con sidered:
1
The
coins seem
to
have been heated
by fire and
there
ar e neither
visible
traces on the corrosion layer s nor on
th e
coins
them selves; but a
countermark
ca n
sometimes
be detected.
2 W h e n
th e
corrosion layers were forming,
th e
coin
was
already worn and there was therefore little or no
relief
to
imprint
into th e
oxide.
3 There are clear visible traces of relief but the coin
cannot (as yet) be identified.
4 The often indistin ct traces of relief of an image and/
or text are recognizable and the coin can be identified.
W h en the coin can be identified (po int 4) it is im porta
to photograph it immediately because it is very brittle
and storage can damage an already vague image, and
identification becomes impossible. Photography requir
es the combination of a good lighting technique an
th e
correct placing
of the
corrosion layer.
In
order
reproduce
the
relief legibly
on the print -
for
the
mirr
image
is
photographed
- the
negative
is
reversed
at th
printing stage, thus producing a
which looks
though
th e
coin itself
had
been photographed.
Photographs 3a, 3b, and 3c are good examples of thi
technique. Photograph 33
is of a
layer
of
corrosion wit
out
raking
an d
little
or
nothing
is
visible. However, ph
tograph
3 b has
been taken with raked lighting;
the
neg
tive
was
reversed
and the
word
C A E S A R on one
side
an
an X on the other are now visible, whilst the head o
Emperor Augustus
is
jus t perceptible (first Altar Seri
R IC no. 36o).
12
Photographs 3b and 3c are the same print , but 3b h
black
lines drawn in to indicate the v isible traces
relief.
COIN
INDEX
In this way more than sixty Roman coin
'lumps'
ha
been identified and photographed. Each identified coin
has
been filed
in a
loose-leaf index w here
a ll
informatio
regarding location of site, references, and photograp
are to be found (photograph 4) .
Because of the difficulty in distinguishing uncle
reliefs, the photograph (where necessary) is covered
transparent paper
upon
which the relief of image and/
text has been drawn, so that the
object
as a whole c
be
quickly recognized.
COIN
LIST
A coin list
was
made based
upon th e
coin book.
T
coins are arran ged according to denomination, an
placed in chronological order (date of issue), whe re
th
information was available. Unidentified coins are liste
per denomination, and
their
numbers are recorded
the end of the list.
12 No. 22 on the coin list.
14
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p. VONS
/
The Identification of Heavily Corroded Roman Coins
Found
at Velsen
L I S T
O F
R O M A N
C O I N S
F R O M V E L S E N
I
found in the Spaarndammerpolder during excavations
1972-
1976
The site is
archaeological ly
known as Velsen
I.
13
i
Abbreviations:
BMC H. Mattingly, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British
Museum, I: Augustus
to
Vitellius, London
1923,
repr.
1976.
Cr. M.H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, 2 vols.,
Cambridge 1974.
FMRD H. Gebhart/K. Kraf t (eds.), Fundmunzen der rdmi-
schen Zeit
in
Deutschland,Abt I-VIII, vol.
i-,
Berlin.
RIC H. Mattingly/E.A. Sydenham, The Roman Imperial
Coinage, I: Augustus to Vitellius, London 1923, repr.
2 Concerning the dates of issue in the coin lis t:
a The dates are of the issue period of the coins. A fe
could not be directly identified and the mentioned d
those of the countermarks.
b The
dates
of the
'Lugdunum
(Altar)'
—
an d
'Mon
series
are the
same
as
those given
by
Wells (1972, 276
3 The letter 't' given
after
a refe rence number me
obverse and/or reverse of the coin are almost the sam
reference number,
however, not exactly. For exam
denarius of Marcus Antonius (no. 5 of the coin list) is m
as
RRC
I2i2t, because the number of the legion was
4 The photograph numbers do not necessarily co
with those
in the
coin list.
The
coin list
is in
chron
sequence, whereas the photograph numbers are in
of
the opening of the coins and their identification.
RRC
E.A. Sydenham,
The
Coinage
of the
Roman Republic,
London
1952.
13
For
the list of Roman coins found at Velsen II, see Appen-
di x (pp. 160 ff . ) .
No.
i
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
n
12
13
14
Issued
RE P UBLI C
denarii
80 BC
77 BC
57 BC
56 BC
32/3
I BC
32/31 B C
A U G U S T U S
aureus
I4/I2BC
denarii
30/27
BC
25/22
B C
25/22
BC
2BC-AD 14
2BC-AD 14
2BC-AD
14
2BC-AD 14
Money er/Emperor
L.
Procili
?
C. ConsidiNoniani
Ancus Marcius
Marcus Antonius
Marcus Antonius
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Reference
RRCjji
RRCjSot
RRC8 6
RRCyiy
RRCi2i2l
RRC 12121
RIC
327
RICH
RIC 306
f l /C 239 /265
K/C 355
,R/C350t
.R7C350
.R7C350
Remarks
plated; cmk.
plated
plated
plated
plated
plated
plated
plated; cmk.
plated
plated
plated
plated
plated
1 4 2
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No.
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
4i
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
5 0
51
52
53
Issued
asses
p
IOBC
I O B C
I O B C
I O B C
I O B C
I O B C
I O B C
I O B C
AD
1
0-1 1
or
AD
14
A D IO-II
or
AD 14
semis
A D
10
—
rl
or AD 14
asses
AD IO-II
l O B C o r
AD IO-II
or
AD
14
idem
idem
idem
idem
asses
;
money ers
3-2
BC
3-2 BC
3-2
BC
3-2 BC
3-2 BC
3-2
BC
3-2 BC
3-2 BC
3-2 BC
3-2 BC
or
ear l ier
idem
idem
idem
idem
idem
idem
A D
14
or
earlier
idem
idem
idem
idem
Money er ; Emperor
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
series
M. Salvius Otho
P.
Lurius Agrippa
P.
Lurius
Agrippa
M.
Salvius Otho
M.
Maecilius
Tullus
P.
Lurius Agrippa
M. Salvius Otho
?
Otho or Tullus
p
2
p
p
p
p
p
?
5
p
?
?
Reference
RIC?
RIC^6o
RIC
360
7?7C36o
#70360
7?7C36o
RIC 360
7?7C36o
RIC 360
7 ?7 C3 6 8 / 3 7 0
RIC 368/370
7?7C
3
6
7
/37i
RIC 362
RIC 3 6 0/ 3 6 4 / 3 6 8 / 3 7 0
idem
idem
idem
idem
7?7Ci89
7?7Ci86t
R IC 1^ 6
7?7Ci89t
RIC
193/194
7?7Ci86
7?7Ci89
7?7C 1
87; 190/193
7?7C 1 89 /1 9 2 /1 9 3 or
194
7?7Ci86t
7?7Ci86t
RIdS6t
7?7Ci86t
7?7Ci86t
7?7Ci86t
7?7Ci86t
RIC?
RIC?
RIC?
RIC?
RIC?
Remarks
nemausus;half
altar
I
al tar I
altar I ; cmk.
altar I
altar
I
altar I
altar
I
altar
I ; cmk. (2 x )
al tar
li b
or lie
al tar
lib
or He
altar II
altar
Ila;
half
altarl,lla, lib, or lie;
half;
cmk.
al tar
I, Ila,
lib,
or
lie
al tar
I, Ila,
lib,
or
lie
al tar I,
Ila,
lib, or
He ;
cmk.
altar
I, Ila, lib, or lie
Tresviri
IVb
Tresviri IVb ; cmk.
Tresviri IVb; cmk.
Tresviri
IVb
Tresviri
IVb;
cmk.
Tresviri
IVb;
cmk.
Tresviri
IVb
; cmk.
(2 x )
Tresviri
IVb; cmk.
; half
Tresviri
IVb
Tresviri IVb or earlier; cmk.
14
Tresviri IVb or earlier
Tresviri IVb
or
earlier
Tresviri IVb or
earlier
Tresviri IVb or
earlier;
cmk.
Tresviri IVb or earlier; cmk. (2 x )
Tresviri
IVb or earlier
cmk.
:
AVG
cmk. : IM P
cmk.
:
rosette ; half
cmk. :
AVG
c m k , : A V ( ? )
14
Probably Tresviri
IVb,
according
to
C A E S A R countermark.
143
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No. Issued
Moneyer /Emperor Reference
Remarks
A U G U S T U S or T I B E R I U S
asses
54 AD2l(?)
or earlier
55
AD
15-17
A U G U S T U S
quadrantes
56
3-2
BC
57 3-2BC
Augustus
or
early Tiberius
Augustus/Tiberius
RIC?
RIC?
cmk.: TIB in
circle
cmk.:
monogram
Germanicus;
half
G A L L I C IM I T A T I O N
quinarii
58 28-26 BC ?
59 ? ?
60 2BC-ADI4
?
C E L T I C
61
? ?
G A L L I E N U S
antoninianus
62 AD
260/26 8 Gallienus
imitation of
B M C
647? obv. head of
Augustus;
rev. Victory o n cis
6 a a n d 6 b )
imitation of
RIC 3 27
obv.
head
of Augustus; rev. bull
charging
7 a a n d 7 b )
R IC
352/354 obv .
head of Augustus;
rev. Victory figure
(photo
5a
and 5 b)
obv. horse with body of 2 concentric circle
bird with spread wings
or
swastika
(? )
(pho
and
ib)
plated (photo
9 3
and
g b)
U N I D E N T I F I E D C O I N S
I denarius
19
asses
15 half
asses
9
quadrantes
plated with few traces of a quadr iga; Republic or Augu stus
(meant ime
ident i f ied:
See No. 63)
of
which
te n
burned
of
which
tw o
burned;
four
with
no oxide;
plain without text
o r figure
nearly no oxide; three with fe w oxide
of
which
two
burned (poss ibly
i
semis)
one
half
R E C A P I T U L A T I O N
I AUREUS
14
DE NAR I I ,
ALL
PLATED,
TWO
WITH
M A R K S
74
ASSES,
OF WHICH
21HALF
AND
17
WITH
C M K .
I
SE M I S
11 Q U A D R A N T E S ,
OF
W HICH P O S S I B L Y
ONE
S E M I S
AND ONE
H A L F
I A N T O N I N I A N U S
3
GALLIC IM I T A T I O N S
i CELTIC
106 C O I N S
144
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After closing the manuscript the fol lowing rornan 'coin-lumps' of Velsen I are opened and
identified:
No.
63
64
65
Issued
RE P UBLI C
denarii
I 3 8 B C
48 BC
32/31
BC
Money er/Emperor
Cn. Geli
C.VibiusC.F.
C.N.Pansa
Marcus Antonius
Reference
RRC948
RRCi2i2t
Remarks
plated
plated
plated
A U G U S T U S
denarii
6 6 i SB C
67 2 BC-AD 14
68 2 BC-AD
14
69 2 BC-AD 14
dupondii
jo AD
10-14
P. Petronius Turpilianus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
Augustus
RIC
104/107
RIC
3 50
RIC 350
3 5 0 / 3 5 6
7?7C 362 /36 6 /370
plated
plated
plated
asses
71
I O B C
Augustus altar I
RIC 19 7
asses ;
moneyers
series
7 2
6 B C
Volusus
Val e r i us
Messala
73 3-2 BC
M.
Salvius Otho
74
AD 15-17
Augustus/Tiberius
RIC?
75 AD 15-17 Augustus/Tiberius RIC?
Tresviri IVa cmk Caesar?
Tresviri
IVb
cmk.:
monogram
Germanicus
cmk.: monogram Germanicus ?
POSTUMUS
antomnianus
76
AD 259-268 Postumus
SeabyVolIV336at plated
145
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p. V O N S
/ T he
Identification
of
Heavily Corroded Roman Coins Found
at
Velsen
A U R E U S A N D D E N A R I I, V E L S E N
A U R E U S
07 RIC 327
D E N A R I I
0 1 R R C 7 7 1
0 2
R R C 7 8 0
t y p e
0 3
R R C 8 8 6
04 RRC 919
05
R R C 1 2 1 2
t y p e
06 RRC 1212
t y p e
08 RIC 1
t y p e
0 9 R IC 3 0 6
1 0 RIC 239
or 265
11 RIC 355
12 RIC 350
t y p e
13 RIC 350
14
RIC 350
A N T O N I N I A N U S
6 2 R I C 5 7
V o l .
V
80
B C
77
B C
57 56
B C
32 31
BC
30 - 27
BC
25
- 22
BC
14
- 12
BC
2 BC-
AD
14
2
c o i n pos i t i v e l y i den t i f i ed
t y p e i d e n t i f i e d , b u t d i f f e re n t da tes pos s ib le
146
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A E S ,
G A L L I C
A N D
C E L T I C C OI NS, V E L S E N
I
1 5 N e m a u s u s
1 6
A l t a r
I
17
18
19
20
2 1
22
23
2 4 A l t a r II b,c
25
26
2 7
A l t a r
I l a
28 A l t a r I Il a b c
2 9
30
31
32
3 3 T r e s v i r i I V b
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
4 2 T r e s v i r i
43
44
45
46
4 7
48
4 9 c m k . A U G
5 0
c m k .
I M P
5 1
cmk.
rosette
5 2
c m k .
A U G
5 3
c m k .
A V ?
5 4 c m k T I B
5 5
c m k . C A E S A R
5 6 q u a d r a n t e
57
5 8 G a l l i c i m i t a t n .
59
60
6 1
C e l t i c
f
o
r
•••
•
mm
m m m
10
mm
•
mm m
•
m i ma
mt
mm
m mi
8
l
mm
m mm
m
mm
• mm
l mm
• mm
6
mm
mm
mm
m mm
• mm
•
••
4
m m
mm*
•mm
-.
._.
Ml
•
HI
m
m
m
m m
m a m
m M
mi mm
C
2
m M
•
••
•
Ml
•Ml
••*
•
Mi
Mr MI
••
MX
1
0.
A C
2
D
4
6 8 10
m M
M M
Ml Ml
mi M
M
..
MI M
• MJ
Ml Ml
HI
Ml
•
12
14
M
Mi
•
Ml
M •
Ml Ml
_.
--
Ml •
••)
IB
M «H
m m m
m
»•
m
••
•mm
16
•mm
• ••
•
mm
• mm
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C O U N T E R M A R K S O N R O M A N C O I N S , V E L S E N I
obverse :
com type :
23
28
34
35
37
38
39
40
iT B
I
/ /
\'
c
unidentifiable
unidentifiable
Altar
I
Altar
I
Altar
I or II
Altar
I or II
Tresviri
IVb
Agrippa
Tresviri IVb
Agrippa
Tresviri
IVb
Tullus
Tresviri
IVb
Agrippa
Tresviri IVb
Otho
Tresviri IVb
half
148
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C O U N T E R M A R K S O N R O M A N
C O I N S ,
V E L S E N I
obverse:
obverse or reverse:
coin type :
42
46
49
51
52
53
5 4
Tresviri
IVb
15
Tresviri?
unknown
unknown
unknown; half
unknown
unknown
unknown
15 Probably Tresviri
IV
149
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C O U N T E R M A R K S O N R O M A N C O I N S , V E L S E N I
obverse :
obverse or
reverse
: com
type
:
1 8
unidentifiable
unknown
probably
Tresviri;
half
Altar
I
47
2 small cmk's
unidentifiable
Tresviri?
Measurements countermarks
No.
23
23
28
3i
34
35
37
38
39
40
42
46
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
length
9 x
7 x
8 x
10 X
9 x
IO X
10 X
7
x
12
X
II X
18
x
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p. V O N S / Th e Identification of Heavily Corroded Roman Coins Found at Velse
INDIC TION OF D TE FOR VELSEN I
From
a study of the coin list, a number of points can
be made which might indicate th e period in which th e
coins were lost, and thus indicate th e period to which
th e
Roman occupation
of
Velsen
I
belongs. Bearing
in
mind that the number of
identified coins, about sixty,
is quite small, caution is called for when dra win g conclu-
sions; primarily, because there are another forty coins
that cannot
be
identified.
16
However, it will be assumed that the unidentified coins
fi t into the scheme which has emerged from the study
of the identifiable material.
1 M ore than
one
hundred coins have been found
spread among a num ber of trenches and ditches on
terrain measuring c .
200
x
200
m (see fig. 2 Velsen I).
This
distribution demonstrates that
th e find
cannot pos-
sibly
be a treasure
trove.
2 Table II I shows a comparison between denarii
17
found in Velsen I with some other excava tions of sites
of th e
Augustan
age and a
slightly older period.
It is
striking that Velsen I contains a high percen tage of
denarii compared with
the total
number
of
found coins.
If
it is
assumed that, a, Table
III
lists excavations
i
various places where
all the
coins found were actual
handed
in
and,
b , th e
relationship between circulate
denarii and bronze coins in the
first
half of the fir
century AD did not sh arply alter in any one period, th
it
may be assumed
that
relatively more denarii were
circulation in Velsen an d Oberhausen
than
in
othe
places.
3
Table
IV gives an
interesting picture
of a
compar
son between
denarii
24
from
the Republic and from t
Augustan period.
A
third column
has
been added whic
shows whether
or not
denarii were found from
th
Tiberian period or later.
T A B L E I V
denarii
Velsen
I
Oberaden
18
Haltern
19
Oberhausen
20
Neuss-Sels
21
Hof he im
23
Republ ican
5
10
66
43
58
n
Augustan
9
2
43
i
19
-
Tiberian or
later
no
no
no
no
25
ye s
i
T A B L E
I I I
Velsen I
Oberaden
18
Haltern
19
Oberhausen
20
Neuss-Sels
21
Valkenbur g
2 2
03
C
OJ
•a
14
12
109
44
77
-
c
o
tH
86
2IO
2421
301
2718
50
• g
03
I
3
i
i
-
a
o
101
222
2533
346
2796
50
•a
14
5 -4
4-3
13
2.9
o
Hof he im
2 3
ii 688
699
1.6
16
Gebhart
a.o. 1956, 54: 'Nicht genug
kann unterstrichen
werden, dass
die
Berechnungen
nur dann
eine Bew eiskraft
haben
konnen,
wenn
eine
gniigend
grosse Zahl von Miinzen
vorliegt.'
17 Denarii including quinarii of the Republic, Augustan, and
early
Tiberian
periods (AD 14-21).
18 FMRD VI.5
Oberaden
no. 5081.
19 FMRD VI.4 Haltern no. 4057.
From a comparison of the denarii found
from
th
Republic and the Augustan Age (columns i and 2)
th e
places listed
in
Table
IV, it
does
not
follow
th
where more Augustan denarii were found
th e site
necessarily later. Should that have been
th e
case, Ho
heim with 100 denarii of the Republic would be olde
than Haltern with 61 Republican
and 39
Augustan
denarii. The two left-hand columns confirm that denar
from the time of the Republic were still in circulatio
during
the
first century
AD.
The third colum n is of
especial
importance for Velsen
In
view
of the
relatively high p ercentage
of the
circul
te d
denarii
in
Velsen
I
(see point
2) it
might
be
expect
that
had the
site been active during
th e
whole rule
20 FMRD
I. 7
Oberhausen 81
ff .
21
Strack
1904,
421.
22 De Weerd
1977.
23 Ritterling 1912,
113.
24 See note
17.
25
Except
for a denarius of Severus Alexander (FMRD
l.-
Augsburg-Oberhausen
no.
ybn).
15
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p.
V O N S / T he
Ident i f icat ion
of
Heavily Corroded Roman Coins
Found at
Velsen
Tiberius
(AD 14-37),
then
at
least
o ne
Tiberius de narius
would hav e been found.
26
In
Velsen
I the
latest denarii were
of the
Pater Patriae
type (four examples) issued under Augustus
(2
B C - A D
14;
nos.
11-14
°
n
t he
coin
list).
4 Plating
It is noticeable that the percen tage of plated coins found
in
Velsen differs sharply from that
in
other sites.
The
following
comparison can be made:
T A B L E V
Total denarii Total plated
Velsen I
Oberaden
18
Haltern
19
Oberhausen
20
Neuss-Sels
21
Vindonissa
22
Hofheim
23
14
12
109
44
77
154
ii
14
-
15
17
12
23
>I
27
100
0
1 4
39
16
15
>I O
It is unclear why such a high percentage of plated d enarii
was found
at
Velsen. However,
it can be
stated that
some denarii gave
th e
impression
of not
being plated
and
that
a first
attempt
at
cutting open
th e
coins
was
halted
because
it was
thought that
th e
coins were solid.
Subsequently, it appeared that the plated coins had a
much thicker layer
of
silver oxide coating than
was the
case
with other coins,
an d
that coins categorized
as
solid
were
later opened
and all
found
to be
plated.
The question remains how denarii from other sites were
established as indeed being solid.
(The question
of
plating
is
further examined under
point 8 'Denarii ' in the addendum about Roman coins
from
Velsen II) .
5
Com parison with the 'Table of Bronze C oin Finds'
by C. W ells .
28
Table VI gives a concise survey of the
26
Van Es 1960,27:
'The
Tiberian
denarius
R IC 3
with Livia
(? )
as Pax on the reverse was one of the most common types
an d used without a break during th e entire reign of this
emperor . '
27
Ritterling
1912, 113. Of the five
Republican denarii ,
on e
was plated.
There is no
knowledge
of the
other
si x
from
th e
period of the Civi l W ars .
28
W ell s 1972,
268-9, Table
I:
Table
o f bronze coin finds.
'coin-find statistics from various sites' based on
by C.
W ells with which V elsen
I is
compar
regard
to the date of issue of the listed coins
VI, W ells comes to the following
conclusion
29
:
28
BC
: Nemausus la (small local issu
20 or soon after: Nemausus
Ib
19-15: Tresviri I, II
I o: Lugdunum
I
(Altar)
8 o r
soon after: Nem ausus
II
3-2:
Tresviri
IV
A D 10 —ii : Lugdunum
Ila
lib (Altar) ; N
III
14 :
Lugdunum
lie (A ltar)
Table VI
leads
to the
following observatio
Velsen I.
a
Nemau sus coins are rarely found.
b
The first issue of the Altar Series (Lugd
is relatively well represented , as is the Moneye
Tresviri IVb by the moneyers (III viri A.A.A
Lurius Agrippa, M . Salvius Otho, and M. M
Tullus.
The
impression
is
that Velsen
I was
occupie
a
period
when
both
th e
Altar Series
I and the
M
Series IVb were well represented among the
circulation.
Various authors point out that it
borne in mind
that
coins minted in Rome, tha
Moneyer s '
Series, would require a long
penetrate to the
northern outposts
of the
Em
reach
the
climax
of
their
circulation.
3 0
A
p
twenty-five
years
is
suggested.
W hen it can be seen, as at Vindon issa, that o
of 2696 bron ze coins, 4 76 (18 ) are of the Alt
I
and
48 8
(18 )
are of the M oneyers ' Series IV
the figures for Velsen I are respectively 17 an
then it may be assumed that both types of co
29 W el ls
1972,
276.
30
W ells gives
an
example
of Haltern an d
conclud
282) : 'Again we see that Italian issues showed no gre
in reaching Nor th Germany . '
Kraay 1962, 9: 'Es dauerte ungefahr ein
Viertel jah
bis
sie ein
wesentlicher Bestandteil
de s
Geldumlauf
Grenzgebieten wurden.'
152
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p.
V O N S
/ T he Ident i f icat ion of Heavi ly Corroded Roman Coins Found at Velsen
T A B L E V I
Table of bronze coin finds*
Velsen I
Republ ican
Local Gall ic 3
Celtic i
I
II
N E M A U S U S II I
I or II
uncer tain
i
Total
i
I 8
L U G D U N U M
(Altar) Ila i
li b
He
IIb,c
3
uncer tain
5
Total
17
Ia,b
IIa,b
T R E S V I R I
(Moneyer s )
IVa,b 9
uncertain 7
Total
1
6
SC
issues AD 10-
21 other Aug.
incl.
unidentifiable
9
T O T A L S A U G . &
TIB. tOAD2I
46
TIBERIUSAD2I-37 -
Oberaden
I2BC-9/8
I
3
2
III
32
143
I
I
2
6
5
213
Haltern
1 1 BC-AD
9
4
403
5
33
38
> 55
s=2 7
3
328**
10
29
9
48
41 8
-
Oberhausen
1
5
BC-AD
14/17
9
6
10
12
4
26
123
3
I
127
6
42
32
26
1 06
41
301
-
Neuss-Sels
20/I5BC-C.AD35
2
73
660
199
199
9i
8
5
135
239
3
10
25
96
134
96
744
42
Vindonissa
AD - 1
7-1
00
517
47
30
65
44.
26
41
17 6
476
69
47
27 4
250
200
1316
M
185
488
301
988
35
2696
1017
*
Table
I of W e ll s
1972,
268-9
**
W e ll s
1972,
269,
note t: about five-sixths are now lost, the remainder are all Lugd. I
153
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V O N S / T he Identification of Heavily Corroded Roman Coins Found at Velsen
reached their
full
circulation.
3 1
However,
on
both sites
some coins of the Moneyers' Series cannot be specifi-
cally
ascribed to a particular series.
The Mo neyers'
Series
IVb was
issued
at
Rome between
3-2 BC ,
thus,
with the tw enty-five year delay mentioned
above
in
mind,
th e
earliest termin ation
of
Velsen
I
would have to date
from
AD 20 in order to reach th e
full
circulation level of these types of coins.
Velsen clearly comes after Haltern, where almost 10
of
the coins found were of the Nemausus type and
where, above all else, seven times as man y Altar Series
coins appeared than of the M oneyers' Series.
There were also more coins of the old er dated
M oneyers'
Series coins la,
Ib, Ila,
lib, than
of IVa and
IVb, whilst
Velsen
produced only IVb series coins, of those that
were
positively identified
as being
from
th e Moneyers '
Series.
Oberhausen, dated
from
c.
1 5 — I O B C
to
AD
14-17;
18
is
also earlier than Velsen.
At
Oberhausen
th e
Nemausus coins are well represented, moreover there
ar e relatively more Altar Series
I
coins found than
Moneyers '
Series IVa,b coins.
The
latter
clearly had
not then reach ed its full circulation. This would indicate
that
th e
latest date
fo r
Velsen
I,
where
th e
Moneyers '
Series IVa,b
(as has
been shown)
did
reach the ir climax,
must be considerably later than the end of Oberhausen .
On the
other hand , Velsen
I
could
b e
dated ea rlier than,
for
example, Aislingen a nd Augsburg,
3 2
both of which
began to
flourish
in the
late-Tiberian
period. There are
no
traces
of the
Altar Series
I at
these sites,
but the
Moneyers '
Series coins
ar e well
represented.
6
The absence of the
'Provident(ia) '
A s.
According to some w riters
Tiberius
commenced
large issue of bronze coins about AD
2 0 — 2 3
with
vident(ia)
type.
3 3
These hav e been found in la
bers almost
all
over
the
Empire.
Of the
269
Tiberian coins found at Vindonissa, 594 (22
of the
Provident(ia) type,
and at
Hofheim al
percentage (12 ) were
encountered.
34
Ne
occupied between 20-15
BC an
d c . AD 35, pro
bronze Tiberian coins dated between
AD
21—37
21
were of the Provident(ia) type (5 0 ).
Provident(ia) coins are absent among the date
from Velsen
I. It
w ould also appear
that no
Prov
coins were present am ong
the
unidentified bron
These measure less than 30 mm in diameter
according to
BM C
the Provident(ia) had a d
at least 3 2
m m .
35
The
lack
of
this type
of
coin
in
Velsen
I
co
to the
fact that when
th e
Provident(ia) coins c
more general
use and
when they were therefo
larger numbers, Velsen
I had
already been ab
As W ells
36
has observed, the Provident(ia) co
not
only minted
in
Rome
b ut
also
in the
provin
means that t he se coins could reach northern
more speedily than the Moneyers ' Series fro
Therefore less than the suggested twenty-fiv
would be necessary, for them to reach their ful
tion. Should these coins have arrived
at
Vels
have been lost with in ten years (a fairly reason
mate)
3 7
after
the date of their issue, then Vels
31
Kr aay 1962, 8: 'Da de r
Umlauf
an Miinzmeister-Assen
schwerlich
innerhalb von
drei Jahren derart
zunahm,
muss
der
Hohepunkt ihrer Zirkulation in Vindonissa friihestens in die
Zwanzigerjahre
fallen. '
32 Wells
1972,
68-9; Ulbert 1959, 83.
33 Grant 1956, 108: 'Issued at one - probably more than
on e — Gallic or German mint, as well as at Rome, where at
least
420
examples have been found
in the Tiber alone. ' -
Gebhart a.o.
1956:
'...
die
ausserst umfangreiche
Kupfe rpra -
gung
des
Augustus
u n d T i b e r i u s . . . ' Ibid. p . 3 2 ' . . . e r s t
zeit
A.D. 22/23 setzt eine reichere Pragung
des
Tiberius
ein.'
-
W ells 1972, 277: 'The next major (italicized by the present
author) issue was one in honour of Divus Augustus, with the
legend sc and P R O V I D E N T ( IA ) on the reverse, struck not only
in
Italy, bu t also, despite th e legend, in the provinces, an d
dat ing from about
AD
20.' Ibid.
p.
279:
'The
real change
in
the coinage comes, not with
Augustus '
death but
after
AD 20 ,
with
the
closing
of the
Lugdunum series
and the introduction
of
the 'Providentia'
asses
an d
other
ne w
types struc
Rome and in the provinces,
Roman
and provincial i
fering no longer in type, but only in
execution.'
- Kr
10 : 'Den nachsten grosseren Beitrag zu m Geldumla
die Providentia-Asse, deren
Pragung vermutlich
Mitte de r
Zwanzigerjahre
bis zum Tod des Tiberius,
langer, dauert .
D a
Gegenstempel nahezu fehlen, darf
annehmen, dass diese Asse vor
allem
in den Dreiss
umliefen,
als
da s Anbringen vo n Schlagmarken n
iiblich
war . '
34 Ritterling 1912,
104, 112,
and
114.
35 BMC I, p.
141.
36 W ells 1972, 277.
37 It is difficult to imagine
that
an emperor would
with the fact that te n
years w ere necessary
fo r
such
an
i
issue bearing
his own
image
t o
reach
th e
troops
on th
front .
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The Identif icat ion of Heavi ly Corroded Roman Coins Found at Velse
have alrea dy been dispersed by c . AD 30. This agrees
with Neuss-Sels that was abandoned in c . AD 35 where
twenty-one Provident(ia) coins were
found.
It is
interesting that of the coin
'lumps'
found at Velsen II
which have been subjected to research, four Provi-
dent( ia) coins have already been identified. (See
appencix for the
identified
coins from Velsen II.)
7 The Closing Coin
The latest Roman coin whic h up till now has been ide nti-
fied at Velsen I, apart from the antoninianus of
Gal-
lienus
(see
paragraph 12),
is the semis no. 26 on the
coin list, which is of the A ltar S eries l ib or c, and was
struck
between AD
10-14.
There is a later 'Gallic copy' (no. 60; photographs 53,
5b) , on
which
th e
head
of
Augustus(? ) appears
on the
obverse
and Victoria seated upon a throne on the
reverse. It
seems
to be a
combination,
th e
throne
resembles
R IC 352 and
Victoria resembles
R IC
354.
The original Roman coin has been issued as a qu inarius
between 2 B C and AD
14.
It may be assumed that the
'Gallic ' copy came into circulation later than this date.
This
'closing coin' does not, however, indicate that th e
occupation
of
Velsen
I
ended shortly after
th e
issue
of
the 'Gallic imitation. '
8 Gallic Copper Quinarii (Kupfer-Quinareri)
Three Gallic copper quinarii were found at Velsen I
(nos.
58-60
on the coin list) (photographs 53, 5b, 6a,
6b,
ja,
and
7b.) Ritterling
38
points
out
that
these small
Gallic
K upfer-Q uinaren
were present in large num bers
in Haltern
but not at all in
Hofheim.
He
comes
to the
conclusion
that
under Tiberius th e Gallic copper coins
were not allowed to be produced any more and were
perhaps even prohibited.
9 Italian issues as a percentage of the total circulation.
(W ell' s Table
II:
'Distribution of Republican, Augus-
tan,
an d
early Tiberian bron ze issues' ) .
In his Table II
3 9
W ells makes a comparison between
Gallic and
Italian bronze asses found
in
several places
and
that date from
th e
Augustan
Age to the
Claudian
period. He attempts, with reservations, on the basis of
the percentage of Italian issues in relation to the whole,
to draw conclusions about the establishment of the set-
tlements mentioned.
He
suggests, moreover, that
the
percentage
of
Italian issu es which ar e found is an indica
tion
of the
lateness
o f
initial occupation.
If
Velsen
I is
added
to
this list, then
the 22
Gallic
an
th e 16 Italian
asses
give 42 to Italian issues. If par
of
W ell' s table
is
used
an d
Velsen
is
added,
th e
result
are :
Oberaden
Haltern
Neuss-Sels
2
6
I I o
Oberhausen
Vindonissa
Velsen
I
42
51
42
Oberhausen
and
Vindonissa, both lying closer
to Rome
would hav e received a higher percentage o f Italian issue
more speedily than
th e
castella
on the
Lower Rhine
The Velsen I percentage compared with that of Vindo
nissa
confirms the idea that Velsen I was established
in
Germanicus ' time.
10 Half-coins
In
Velsen
I 22
half-coins were found, namely 21
AE
and one quadrant . It is striking that among th
undete rmin ed half- coins there are four unoxidized asses
which
ar e
completely smooth
(or
perhaps blanks which
never were struck?) . These four half-c oins (asses) weigh
9.113 gr,
8.994
g r,
5.243
gr, and
3.108
gr .
A comparison with other places whe re bronze half-coin
have been found is given in the ensuing survey:
T A B L E
VII
Percentage of the total
number
of
bronze coins
Oberaden 26 Neuss-Sels
16
Haltern 24% Hof he im n%
Oberhausen 31% Velsen I 24%
11
Countermarks
A survey
of the
Velsen
I
countermarks
can be
foun
on
pages 14810 150. Approxim ately
44 of th e
identified
bronze coins are counterm arked. However, the identifi-
cation of a counterma rk does not a lways lead to the
identification
of the
coin bearing
it .
Although various numismatists question the date of
application
and the purpose of countermarks, in genera
it can be
stated that
the Velsen I
countermarks origina
38 Rit ter l ing 1912,
116,
39
Wells
1972, 280 Table II.
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V O N S
/ The Identif ication of Heavilv Corro ded
R o m a n
Coins Found at Velsen
ted in the Augustan and early Tiberian periods, as
will
be
later
specified.
a
The
'Caesar ' Countermark
There
are six
Caesar countermarks
of
which
five appear
in the Moneyers ' Master Series IVb and the sixth on
an unident ifiab le coin. K raay writes about th is kind of
countermark as
follows
40
:
'The monogram C A E S A R nearly always occurs on the
asses
of the
Roman moneyers
of
Augustus,
th e
last
of
whom
may
have minted about BC
3.
This,
at
first sight,
might seem to be the approximate date of the coun-
termark but since occasionally the same cou ntermark
is found on later coins or stamped over later coun-
termarks, the actual date of application must be postpo-
ned at least twenty years. '
Various
numismatis ts
4 1
agree that th e
'Caesar '
coun-
termark
of
Germanicus
is
from
th e
period
of his
mili tary
campaign of AD 14-17 in
North
Germania. Kraay, on
the other hand, wonders whether this 'Caesar' coun-
term ark could refer to Tiberius himself.
42
In connection
with
th e
geographical distribution
of the
'Caesar' coun-
termarks, it is interesting to add Velsen I to Kraay's
Table:
43
T A B L E
VIII
Nijmegen
Neuss-Sels
Neuss-Lager
Vindonissa
Hofheim
Velsen
I
Moneyer
asses
125
129
26
94 5
32
14
C A E S A R
monograms
64
37
8
20
5
c. 6
/(>
50
29
30
2
15
c . 4 0
Kraay writes of this survey:
'The
conclusion is clear
enough. The countermark w as applied in lower
Germany
and
becomes progressively rarer farther
south. '
4 4
In the case of Velsen, the percentage does not
contradict Kra ay's conclusion.
b IMP
The counterm ark IMP is, in general, viewed a
Augustan. Kraay
4 5
observes that in Oberaden
ended in 9/8 B C, a coin w as found with th e cou
I M P .
Later
authors
think
in
terms
of
Claudius
or
c
A V G , A V C ,
and AV.
A number of coins from Haltern (abandoned
which bear
the
countermarks
AV and A V G , ar
These countermarks were manifestly still in us
th e
late Augustan period.
d EUl
an
d
( i ) -
W ith regard to this countermark, Kraay writ
countermarks TIB, TIB-IM and T I B - A V G
diff
Caesar in that they occur both on the issue
moneyers of Augustus and, though less comm
th e
altar coins
of
Lugdunum.
In
addition
to
t
main series, there are, as with Caesar, a few la
which bring the terminal date down to AD 22-2
e
VAR
(photograph 8) .
Coin no. 23 (Altar Series I) came from a Velsen I
well
that
was
constructed
out of
wood from
a
a large wine-barrel. On the obverse o f this coin
A
stamped an d
V A R
on the reverse.
It is
generally accepted
48
that this last-name
belonged to P. Quinctilius Varus, w ho had bee
nor of Lower Germania for some years until A
who in
that year
suffered
a
great defeat
by
A
in
which three Roman legions were lost. Th
te rmark must have been imprinted during o
A D 9. The coin
gives
th e impression of having be
mered flat.
12
A Third- Century Antoninianus
(Photog
and 9b)
After coin 62, thought to be a denarius, was
identification proved to be impossible because t
parative material
h ad
been drawn from
th e
Re
and Julian-Claudian periods. A visit to the Roy
Cabinet surprisin gly resulted in the identificatio
40 Kr aay
1956,
in. 44
41 BMC I, p. XXIX note 4; Kraf t 1950-1, 30: 'So bleibt 45
nur
Germanicus , d.h.
die Zeit 14-17 n. Chr. iibrig.' 46
42
Kraay
1956, 122. 47
43
Kraay 1956,
119. 48
Kr aay 1956, 119.
Kraay
1956, 117.
Haalebos 1977, 205.
Kr aay 1956, 122.
K r a a y
1962,
4 6.
I
5
6
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V O N S
/ The
Identif icat ion
of
Heavily Corroded Roman Coins
Found at
Velse
coin
as an
antoninianus
of the
Emperor Gal l ienus
from
between AD 260-268
(RIC
57 Vol. V) .
49
Although
it is
rem arkable that
a
third-centu ry Gallienic
coin
should be found amongst Augustan and early
Tiberian material , i t is s tr iking that i t was Gallienus
and his successor, Postumus, who w ere responsible for
th e restoration of the neglected Rhine defences.
5 0
In
c .
AD
25 8
Gallienus stationed the Impe rial Head qua rters
and the Mint at Cologne. Moreover , it was Postumus
who mu st have been interested in a we ll-defended de lta
area because
of the
presence
of
large r ivers which served
as
essential lines of communicat ion between Gal l ia an d
England, which were also under
his
command.
In
Boersma's s tudy
'The
Roman Coins
from the
Province
of
Z eelan d' i t is clear that there was an e xception al peak
of
Rom an coins between
A D
268 and 273, and he conclu-
des:
'Apparent ly
after
Postumus had been acclaimed
emperor in 260 he took immediate s teps to build a
defensive sea-line in order to prevent the enemy from
overrunning the country.'
51
Velsen
would perhaps also hav e been involv ed with this
activity or at least w ould ha ve been visited. It is feasible
that remains from Velsen
I
were still present
in the
middle of the third century.
5 2
(In the meantime a plated antoninianus of
Postumus
is found)
C O N C L U S I O N
W i th th e above in mind as a means of establishing th e
approximate
initial and terminal dates, deductions can
be made regarding the durat ion of the Roman occupa-
tion.
Establishment
If i t is assumed that
a
a Roman fortif ication was built at Velsen, and
b that this
fortif ication
played an offensive role in the
Rom an Elbe policy,
53
in the first half of the first cen tury,
then Velsen
I
must have been established during
one
of th e
military campaigns, that
is to say a
punitiv
expedition, against
th e
Frisians
and the
Chauc
under taken dur ing
th e
Augusto-Claudian per iod .
In view of known mili tary campaigns, the possibil i ty
of Velsen I having been established during such a
expedition can be examined . If Velsen I, like Oberaden
Haltern, Neuss-Sels , and to a lesser extent Oberha usen
played a role during the campaigns of Drusus, 12 BC
and Tiberius, AD 4, then more Nemausus coins oug
to have been foun d, for only one half Nemausus-as (no
15) has been identif ied with any certainty.
That Germanicus established Velsen I AD
14-17,
probable .
The
A ltar Series
I is
relatively well represe n
ted. I t is plausible that the six Caesar countermarks
attr ibuted
to
Germanicus
41
might indicate that Velse
I originates from one of his cam paigns.
In Vindonissa, which also dates from
AD
17,
accordin
to Kraay,
5 4
relat ively many Nem ausus
asses
have bee
found, indeed. However , th e supposition
that
Velse
I was e stablished in AD 17 is still credible. K raay explain
why Nem ausus coins stil l we re found at Vindo nissa bu
not in the
more nor thern castella.
5 5
Point
9
suppor
the supposition that Germanicus established Velsen I
If Velsen I was begun after Germanicus' comm and the
the later campaigns along the Elbe, know n from classic
literature, would be acceptable.
A
late campaign took place
in
AD
28
dur ing
th e
Frisi
rebellion, when there was talk of a mysterious camp
called 'Flevum'. Velsen I would have already bee
established, or begun, assisted by troops of the Upper
Rhine sent to
relieve
Flevum.
5 6
These soldiers certain
carried Tiberian coins, and lost them. Given th e lac
of historical informa tion about the period im med iate
after Germanicus , noth ing remains but to suppose th
Velsen I was established
between
AD 14—17 by Germani
cus on one of his
campaigns .
Termination
i W h i ls t a high percentage of denarii circulated
Velsen I, no
Tiberian
denarii were found.
If the
first
Tiberian denarii from Rom e took
fiftee
49 Thanks go to Mr J.P.A. van der
Vin,
who
immediate ly
identif ied the coin as being of the third century and con-
sequently thought of Gall ienus .
50 Van Es
1972, 53;
Byvanck 1943, 573-82.
51
Boer sm a 1967,
76.
5 2
If the
visitors
had
indeed
the
intention
to
check whether
a r enew al and strengthening of Velsen was desirable, one
might
conclude
that
the tr ibutary of the Rhine which passed Velse
w as
not
then silted
up.
53 Van Es 1972, 29.
54 K r a a y
1962, 8.
5 5 Kra ay 1962, 25 .
5 6 Such
a supposition implies
that
Velsen I was not
Flevum.
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Th e
Identificat ion
of
Heavily Corroded Roman Coins Found
at
Velsen
years
57
to reach Velsen and to be lost, then Velsen I A P P E N D I X
was abandoned in
c.
AD 30 or earlier.
2 No Provident(ia) coins were found.
If the
Provident(ia) coins, which were minted
in
great
quantities in
Lugdunum
(Lyons)
from AD
20-23,
took
eight to ten years to reach Velsen, then Velsen I must
have been abandoned in c. AD 30 or earlier.
3 Table
VI shows a comparison between Velsen I and
Oberhausen
(15
BC-AD 14),
and
Velsen
I and
Neuss-Sels
(20/15 BC-AD 35). Velsen I appears to
fall
between the
two,
that is to say
from
AD 14/17—AD 30.
4
No
countermarks were found from
the
middle
and
late periods
of Tiberius'
reign.
5
It
could
be
assumed that Velsen
I was
evacuated
in AD 2 8
after
the Frisian rebellion of that year was crush-
ed
by L.
Apronius, governor
of Upper
Germania.
If
Velsen I was actually deserted in AD 28, the question
has to be posed as to how the area of the Rhine delta
downstream of Vechten was kept under control between
AD
28 and
40.
5S
It is
possible that
after
the
revolt
of
AD 28 Velsen I was replaced by Velsen II. Subsequent
research on the coins from Velsen II
will
shed more
light on this matter.
(In the meantime this research has been completed and
is to be found in an appendix to this article.)
Given the foregoing points of consideration together
with the warning that only a poor indication can be given
by
c.
60
identifiable coins,
it
seems likely that
the
period
of
occupation of Velsen I began during one of Germani-
cus' campaigns
in AD
14—17
and
ended
in or
about
AD
30 .
The Identification of Coins from Velsen II
1
Twenty-eight Roman coins found
at
Velsen
II in
heavily oxidized as were those coins found during th
tion campaign
at
Velsen
I.
Only
on e
denarius
and tw
were exceptions.
A few coins had already been examined by the Ro
Cabinet
and the
IPP,
1
Amsterdam.
The
research
w as
by the
author using
th e
same methods
as
were appl
coins
from Velsen
I. Of the 28
coins,
25
could
be i
(see Coin List Velsen II, p.
oo).
2
The
coins
had
been lost
on the
reedy bank
of th
course
of the
River IJ, then probably
a northern
tr
the Rhine. They were found distributed over all e
trenches . In one place (less then i m
2
) eight Roman a
found together, which supports th e impression
that
t
were all lost at the same time and that either all
th e
contents
of a
purse
was
lost
(see 3) .
3 The finds from the trenches were assem bled for ea
metre. In trench E, square H
15
a
(=
i m
2
) eight as
found together. They are:
T A B L E
I X
Number E mperor Denom ination
RIC
3
6-9
2
24,25
Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Moneyer
Tullus
Provident
Germanicus
Minerva
193
p. 95 /96
44/45 o
66
57
It is
difficult
to imagine that it would have taken so long
(fifteen years)
fo r
this coin, minted with
th e
image
o f
Emperor
Tiberius,
to have reached the soldiers of the northern castella
in such considerable numbers that they could have been lost
an d
thus should occur
in the
coin finds.
For it was in the
emperor's own interest that his image and the news of his
accession
-
information
to
which
the
representation
of his
head
an d
the
legends
on the
coins were admirably suited
-
were
soon made known to all the troops.
W h en
the concept of
'coin
drift '
is rejected, the end date has to be placed earlier.
58
It is hardly conceivable that Roman strategists should have
projected a
castellum
at
Vechten instead
of one
somewhere
on
the coastal barriers along the North Sea. By neglecting this
defence the Romans would not be in control of the eminently
easy
route along the barriers, which penetrated behind the
Roman lines.
These
coins could
not
have been lost earlier than
th e
period. Because both Claudian coins found were b
and if coin drift is taken into account, it is plausible
were lost
after
AD 54.
2
It is striking that this coin find (treasure trove) con
of non-countermarked asses, without sestertii
or
dup
4 Three Agrippa asses were fo und (nos. 10-12) whi
ing to many numismatists are from the reign of
Rodewald,
3
echoing the opinion of a large numbe r of
1
Albert Egges va n Giffen Institute fo r Pre- and Pro
Universi ty of Am sterdam.
2 Gebhard t
a.o. 1956,
43 note 57: 'Anderseits ist
ob die barbarisierten Stiicke des Claudius nicht
Geldumlauf nach 54 gehoren . '
3
Rodewald 1976, 143.
I
5
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The
Identification
of
Heavilv Corroded Roman Coins
Found at
Velsen
tists, agrees in placing this issue not in Caligula s reign but
in the last years of Tiberius.
5 Countermarks (see coin list
p. 160)
On the
Germanicus
as no.
19
RIC
44) the
letters
.../VIM
( . . .LAVIM) are
legible, preceded
by
space
for two or
three letters.
This is clearly th e countermark T I C L A V I M . I t places this Caligula
as in the Claudian period .
4
On the Germanicus as no. 20 RIC 44) the two letters CA ar e
visible, some more letters possibly being present on the obverse
and
reverse.
6
In Table X the coins are arranged according to the different
possibil i t ies, namely, in column B the two denarii are
omitted,
column C gives the asses
from
the 'treasure trove', in column
D
these
asses are omitted; in
column
E the
Agrippa
asses are
added to those of Caligula cf. paragraph 4) , and,
finally,
in
column
F the
Caligula
as
with
the
Claudian countermark
is
added
to the
Claudian
asses.
7 The Minerva (Pallas) as no. 25 of Claudius, which is barba-
rous
(identified
as
such
by the form of the legend on the
obverse), clearly shows
t he
double edge
of
Minerva s shield.
Banti
and Simonetti write:
'In
the series
with Pallas
advancing
in combat, a part of the British imitation is easily individualized
by the
form
of the
shield, which
in
addition
to the
outer border
also has an
inner
circle.'
5
Did this barbarous coin come from England?
8
Denarii
The
apparently unplated shiny denarius
no. i
from Velsen
II
was already identified in 1964 by the Royal Coin Cabinet, The
Hague (letter dated 28.5.64
no. 722 to the
Institute
of
Pre-
and
Protohistory, Amsterdam).
There
was, therefore,
no
point
in
trying
to
open this denarius
jus t to see
whether
or not it
w as
plated.
After
Professor J.E. Bogaers, University of Nijmegen, pointed
out how light-weight th e denarius w as
(2 .5122
gr.) and asked
if it had
perhaps been plated,
it
appeared,
after a
small hole
had been drilled, that it was not plated. The Central Laboratory
of the Van Gelder Paper Works, Velsen, analysed the metal
borings and determined the specific gravity.
Their report dated
24.10 .77 was
surprising: S.G.
6.61, and
'The
coin is composed mainly of tin.' Thus it was not a silver denarius
but a shiny coun