THE USE OF ROMAN COINAGE

Summary. There is little doubt that Roman coins found today in excavations were lost during the Roman period because they were in use. If these coin-finds are examined in the appropriate way it should be possible to detect something of the patterns of coin-use and coin-loss in the ancient world and hence to learn something of the monetary side of trade and the economy. Finds from different sites are compared in an effort to establish basic rules of interpretation, or, failing that, of presentation of the evidence.