The Warwickshire Silver Denarii hoards
In December 2021 and again in July 2023 Dr Paul Grigsby and the WCN were awarded funding from the Warwick Institute of Engagement Collaboration and Co-production Fund to undertake a project to strengthen the relationship between the Dept of Classics and Ancient History and Warwickshire Museum. The money is being used to develop an engagement project on the Roman coin hoards displayed at Market Hall Museum.
Coins from the first South Warwickshire Silver Denarii coin hoard (image - Dr Paul Grigsby)
Over the summer of 2022 the coins of one of the hoards were photographed by Warwick PhD student Campbell Orchard. Our aim is to increase public engagement with these remarkable objects and to undertake new research to bring these objects to life. The project will involve our Warwick Classics students and local schools in creating resources and bringing these remarkable objects more of the attention that they rightly deserve. The next stage will be to upload these images online, to catalogue them, and to look towards curating an online exhibition. Watch this space for more developments.
First South Warwickshire Silver Denarii Coin Hoard
In 2008, a hoard of 1146 silver Roman denarii coins was discovered in a small white ware pot buried in a field on the Edge Hill. The hoard was eventually acquired by Warwickshire Museum and is now on display at the Market Hall Museum in Warwick. There have been further coins found on the site and the hoard now stands at 1155 coins. All the coins in the hoard are made of silver, this type of coin is called a denarius – it was the same as ten sestertius (a large copper or bronze coin). The oldest coin in the hoard dates from 194/190 BC to AD 64 – over 200 years before the Romans conquered Britain in AD 43 (under Emperor Claudius). Information from Our Warwickshire website where you can learn more about the hoard.
Second South Warwickshire Silver Denarii Coin Hoard
A second hoard of 440 Roman silver denarii coins buried inside a ceramic pot was uncovered in 2015 at the site on Edge Hill. The coins range in date from 147 BC to AD 70. This hoard is extremely rare as it contains coins minted by all four rulers during the civil war period of AD 69, known as ‘the year of the four emperors’. ICON the The Institute of Conservation undertook a project to clean the 440 Roman silver denarii coins, some of which had surface corrosion.
One of the cleaned coins from the second hoard - image from ICON
In 2019, the people of Warwickshire supported the museum in fundraising to secure the hoard. The hoard was eventually acquired by Warwickshire Museum and is now on display at the Market Hall Museum in Warwick. Find out more from the ICON site here.