Roman coin, 200-300 AD (Lot 5)

About This Coin

A small copper-alloy coin with heavily worn edges and an irregular shape recovered from Lot 5 during Season 12. Jack Begley found the coin while sifting through soil that archaeologist Laird Niven had removed from the rounded stone feature, a multilayered structure that has produced artifacts spanning several centuries. The coin's irregular form indicated it had been hammered rather than struck with a die, a manufacturing method that fell out of use by approximately 1650.

Numismatist Sandy Campbell examined the coin and identified what he believed to be a horse in the design. Based on the imagery and the method of production, Campbell concluded the coin was late Roman, dating to approximately 200 to 300 AD. Emma Culligan's XRF analysis confirmed a composition of 70 percent copper and 16 percent lead, with elevated levels of arsenic and sulfur. Campbell noted that copper coins of this type circulated for extended periods throughout the ancient and medieval world, and that the Vikings were known to collect and repurpose Roman coins they encountered during their expansion across Europe and the North Atlantic.

The coin was one of several Roman-era coins recovered from the Lot 5 area across multiple seasons. By the start of Season 13, five Roman coins had been found on Lot 5, followed by a sixth identified by Emma Culligan as bearing the likeness of Emperor Claudius II and dated to approximately 250 to 270 AD. Sandy Campbell described that sixth coin as the most remarkable piece found on the island, and observed that Roman coins remained in active circulation as currency well into the 1500s across Europe and the New World. He suggested the coins on Lot 5 could represent pocket change lost by workers who came to the island to construct the Money Pit. The team has noted that similar Roman coins from the same era were recovered at sites associated with the Knights Templar in Iceland during their European research trips.