| NO. | OBVERSE. | REVERSE. | REMARKS. |
| 2* | Undescribed. | Undescribed. | Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. i. p. 34. |
TITUS | |||
UNDATED | |||
| 3* | T CAESAR VESPASIANVS Head l. laureate. | ANNONA AVG Abundantia seated l., with r. hand raised. Cohen2 i. p. 430, 16. | Ploughed up in the Red-abbeystead (=O.S. No. 605) in 1792: Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. i. p. 34. |
TRAJAN | |||
UNDATED | |||
| 4* | Undescribed. | Undescribed. | Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. i. p. 34. |
ANTONINUS PIUS | |||
TRIB. POT. xv: 152 A.D. | |||
| 5* | ANTONINVS AVG PIVS PP TR P XV | COS IIII Emperor standing l., with globe Cohen2 ii. p. 300, 305. | 'Very fine preservation': Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. i. p. 35. |
The whole number of these gold pieces is too small to provide a basis for conclusions of moment. The one inference that can be drawn is far from being new: they show that Newstead was held by the Romans down to at least A.D. 152. The evidence of the silver is more interesting. But, before it is examined in detail, there are certain preliminary points that ought to be made clear. The oldest denani were minted in the second century B.C. Obviously such a date is quite unsuitable as a terminus a quo. The presence of these pieces is explained by the fact that, owing apparently to its superior quality, Republican silver continued to circulate in the frontier provinces for more than a century after the establishment of the empire. It seems to have been in every-day use at all events as late as the Flavian era, although there is reason to believe that it vanished soon afterwards. Its appearance at Newstead, therefore, does no more than strengthen the testimony in favour of an Agricolan occupation. This prolonged defiance of Gresham's Law is difficult to account for, unless the good money was habitually accepted at a slight premium. The case of the legionary denarii of Mark Antony is different. They were so heavily alloyed that the deterioration which set in under Nero had to run its course for well over a hundred years before the ordinary imperial pieces touched the same depth of degradation. Their occurrence in hoards shows that they were still current towards the end of the second century A.D.; in the interval it had not been worth the while of any government to call them in. The indications as to the terminus ad quem are entitled to a larger measure of confidence. Denarii, indeed, are specially valuable in this respect. While money of all kinds undoubtedly took a little time to make
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