Is Anyone Aware of a Significant Roman Coinage Hoard from Lay, France?

[jfp7375]

I am currently reading Coinage in the Roman World by Andrew Burnett, and he makes a really interesting reference to "the hoard from Lay in France". He says "...a specific example of a coin hoard probably contained in the official container in which it left the treasury (the hoard from Lay in France)...".

I was really interested to read more about this hoard and hopefully see pictures of the container, but I am having a really hard time finding any info on it. 

Anyone have knowledge or links they can share about this hoard?? thanks

Edited June 29, 2022 by jfp7375

[rNumis]

Some information here:

Hoard Details 2967 (ox.ac.uk)

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

[jfp7375]

3 hours ago, rNumis said:

Some information here:

Hoard Details 2967 (ox.ac.uk)

 

Cheers,

 

Steve

Wow, impressive sleuthing my friend! 

The catalogue of coins seems to match Burnett's assertion that government expenditure (specifically military pay) would be met largely with newly minted coins, but also older coins collected via taxation. This assumes the hoard is indeed straight from the treasury, but it would be strange for the hoard to have such a concentration of one coin type (~70% Caracalla antoniniani) if it were not, I think. 

[Ricardo123]

Hola. I ask a friend of mine from CT (ocat) for your hoard, he study them a lot and help me in past. This is the answer he send, translation from french language. He find a document from the town hall of  Lay:

In 1949, a rather important find, and somewhat out of the ordinary, was made on the territory of the commune of Lay. We were repairing the small local road D 13 and we were widening a bend when the roadmender Rodriguez, a Portuguese, found a fragment of wall. It didn't matter much. As he was pulling sand, he stripped it a bit and fell on a kind of coarse pavement, and, under a stone, he found a treasure.

This treasure was presented, said Rodriguez, in the form of a sausage, that is to say a fairly long cylinder, about a foot, and about ten centimeters in diameter. It seemed to be wrapped in a blackish material, maybe leather, maybe wood. In any case very pressed by curiosity, Rodriguez destroyed the envelope, which is very regrettable and he found a considerable number of Roman coins. These coins were stacked fairly evenly. They were cleaned, stripped, and presented to a specialist who studied this treasure from the point of view of the dates.

These 1127 coins, which were “denarii”, some of which were larger than the others and which are called antonymous coins, which were worth 2 denarii; The vast majority ranged between the reigns of HADRIAN, who lived from 117 to 138 A.D., until the reign of ALEXANDER SEVERE, in 222-235 A.D., therefore over a fairly limited period. The largest number of these pieces belonged to the SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS dinasty. It is ALEXANDER SEVERE whose most recent denarius marks the date of the burial of the treasure.  It was therefore around 235 at the most that the treasure was buried. This time was a time of great turmoil in the Empire. There had been many invasions of Alamanni, devastating Germanic tribes.

The pieces of the treasure of Lay were inventoried and determined by Mr. TRICOU, member of the Cercle Lyonnais de numismatique. The oldest was a denarius from Mark Antoiny Legion VI (between 43 and 30 BC) and the most recent from Emperor ALEXANDER SEVERE who reigned from 222 to 235 AD. There were a few deniers from Vespasian, Adrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus (2nd and 3rd century).

The largest part, 327 coins, was made up of deniers and double deniers from CARACALLA and his brother GETA, ELAGABALUS and MACRIANUS. There were a few pieces by PLAUTILLIA, wife of CARACALLA, by JULIA DOMNA, her mother, by JULIA MAESA, grandmother of ELAGALGALUS. Mr. Fustier thinks that the treasure represented the pay of a military unit.

 

[jfp7375]

6 hours ago, Ricardo123 said:

Hola. I ask a friend of mine from CT (ocat) for your hoard, he study them a lot and help me in past. This is the answer he send, translation from french language. He find a document from the town hall of  Lay:

In 1949, a rather important find, and somewhat out of the ordinary, was made on the territory of the commune of Lay. We were repairing the small local road D 13 and we were widening a bend when the roadmender Rodriguez, a Portuguese, found a fragment of wall. It didn't matter much. As he was pulling sand, he stripped it a bit and fell on a kind of coarse pavement, and, under a stone, he found a treasure.

This treasure was presented, said Rodriguez, in the form of a sausage, that is to say a fairly long cylinder, about a foot, and about ten centimeters in diameter. It seemed to be wrapped in a blackish material, maybe leather, maybe wood. In any case very pressed by curiosity, Rodriguez destroyed the envelope, which is very regrettable and he found a considerable number of Roman coins. These coins were stacked fairly evenly. They were cleaned, stripped, and presented to a specialist who studied this treasure from the point of view of the dates.

These 1127 coins, which were “denarii”, some of which were larger than the others and which are called antonymous coins, which were worth 2 denarii; The vast majority ranged between the reigns of HADRIAN, who lived from 117 to 138 A.D., until the reign of ALEXANDER SEVERE, in 222-235 A.D., therefore over a fairly limited period. The largest number of these pieces belonged to the SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS dinasty. It is ALEXANDER SEVERE whose most recent denarius marks the date of the burial of the treasure.  It was therefore around 235 at the most that the treasure was buried. This time was a time of great turmoil in the Empire. There had been many invasions of Alamanni, devastating Germanic tribes.

The pieces of the treasure of Lay were inventoried and determined by Mr. TRICOU, member of the Cercle Lyonnais de numismatique. The oldest was a denarius from Mark Antoiny Legion VI (between 43 and 30 BC) and the most recent from Emperor ALEXANDER SEVERE who reigned from 222 to 235 AD. There were a few deniers from Vespasian, Adrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus (2nd and 3rd century).

The largest part, 327 coins, was made up of deniers and double deniers from CARACALLA and his brother GETA, ELAGABALUS and MACRIANUS. There were a few pieces by PLAUTILLIA, wife of CARACALLA, by JULIA DOMNA, her mother, by JULIA MAESA, grandmother of ELAGALGALUS. Mr. Fustier thinks that the treasure represented the pay of a military unit.

 

This is incredible! so cool. thanks for sharing this. having the additional context/information about the hoard is really interesting. 

Edited June 30, 2022 by jfp7375