Research Project

Counterfeiting coinage in Roman Trier in the third century AD

Investigations into the largest find complex of coin casting moulds north of the Alps

Summary

The rescue excavations north of the amphitheatre led by Dr. H.-P. Kuhnen from 1996 to 1999 led to the find of about 6,000 clay coin casting moulds and fragments lying in the foundation layer of a city wall tower. The identification of a sample of 600 moulds shows that they were used to cast denarii and sestertii of the emperors Antoninus Pius (138–161) to Gordian III (238-241). Within the framework of this project, the effects on coin production of competition between state and private actors as well as the adaptability of the Roman coinage system to crisis situations will be investigated.

The identification of all coin imprints or patrices from the Trier find complex, using the coin finds and coin hoards from the Trier area, will address the question of how local coin production influenced the circulation of coins or the official coin supply of the city. Further investigations into the organisation of production and the manufacturing process of the moulds will be carried out. Possible integration processes of the Trier counterfeit coinage in connection with the activities of the potters and metalworkers on the outskirts of the city will be explored, among other things, through the archaeometric analysis of the clay used.

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Contact

Dr. Jérémie Chameroy
+49 6131 8885-268
Kontakt

Team

Dr. Jérémie Chameroy
Dr. Pierre-Marie Guihard
Dr. Lars Blöck

Project Period

01.2019 - 12.2025

  • Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier
  • Université de Caen Normandie, Centre Michel de Boüard-CRAHAM

  • J. Chameroy / P.-M. Guihard (Hrsg.), Produktion und Recyceln von Münzen in der Spätantike. RGZM Tagungen 29 (Mainz 2016).
  • J. Chameroy / P.-M. Guihard, Falsa fusio à Trèves. Les moules monétaires du IIIe siècle de la Löwenbrauerei et la place du denier dans la circulation monétaire en Gaule du Nord. J. Chameroy / P.-M. Guihard (Hrsg.), Produktion und Recyceln von Münzen in der Spätantike. RGZM Tagungen 29 (Mainz 2016) 235-263.

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