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Emperor Honorius' money from AD 408 remains as good as the Bank of England's
Roman Coin Hoard Discovered in St. Albans
By Madeline Burton
The Herts Advertiser
St. Albans, England
Thursday, October 18, 2012
http://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/roman_coin_hoard_discovered_in_st_albans_1...
One of the largest hoards of Roman gold coins ever discovered in the UK has been found in the St Albans district.
A metal detectorist made the nationally-significant find of 159 Late Roman gold coins on private land in the north of the district.
A team from the district council's museums service investigated the site at the beginning of October and confirmed the find. The coins are in very good condition and were scattered across a fairly wide area. Evidence suggests that the hoard was disturbed in the last couple of hundred years due to quarrying activity or plough action.
The coins date to the very end of Roman rule in Britain and there are practically no other comparable gold hoards from that period because after AD 408 no further coin supplies reached Britain.
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The coins -- called solidus (plural: solidi) -- date to the closing years of the Fourth Century. They were mostly struck in the Italian cities of Milan and Ravenna and issued under the Emperors Gratian, Valentinian, Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius.
David Thorold, prehistory to medieval curator at Verulamium Museum in St Albans, said: "During the period of the Roman occupation of Britain, coins were usually buried for two reasons. They were buried as a religious sacrifice to the gods, or as a secure store of wealth, with the aim of later recovery.
"Threat of war or raids might lead to burial in the latter case, as may the prospect of a long journey, or any other risky activity."
He went on: "Gold solidi were extremely valuable coins and were not traded or exchanged on a regular basis. They would have been used for large transactions such as buying land or goods by the shipload.
"The gold coins in the economy guaranteed the value of all the silver and especially the bronze coins in circulation. If you saved enough bronze, you could exchange it for a silver coin. If you saved enough silver, you could exchange it for a gold coin. However, most people would not have had regular access to them. Typically, the wealthy Roman elite, merchants or soldiers receiving bulk pay were the recipients."
Such finds come under the Treasure Act 1996. The next stage is for the British Museum's panel of independent experts to examine the coins and make their report to the coroner, who will determine whether they are to be considered as "treasure" under the act. The value of the gold coins is not yet known.
Councillor Mike Wakely, the council's portfolio holder for sports, leisure, and heritage, said: "This is an exciting find of national significance, and one that our museums' team is very excited about. We hope to have an opportunity to display these coins at Verulamium Museum in St Albans over the coming months, once the formalities have been dealt with."
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Prophecy Platinum Intercepts Best Pt+Pd+Au Grades Yet
at Wellgreen Project in Yukon Territory: 5.36 g/t
Company Press Release
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Prophecy Platinum Corp. (TSX-V: NKL, OTC-QX: PNIKF, Frankfurt: P94P) announces more results of its 2012 drill program on the company's fully-owned Wellgreen platinum group metals, nickel, and copper project in southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada. Four surface holes and four underground holes all intercepted significant mineralized widths, ranging from 28.5 meters (WS12-201) and up to 459.5 metres (WS12-193). Highlights include WU12-540, which returned 8.9 metres of 5.36 grams per tonne platinum, palladium, and gold; 1.73 percent copper; and 1.01 percent nickel within 304.5 meters of 0.66 g/t platinum-palladium-gold, 0.20 percent copper, and 0.27 percent nickel.
The surface drill program started in June and has completed 16 holes (assays pending for 12 holes) with two rigs now on site. The surface program continues to progress at a steady pace.
Prophecy Chairman John Lee commented: “Wellgreen is a very large nickel, copper, and platinum group metals project with near-surface high-grade zones. High-grade intercepts will be incorporated into resource modeling and mine planning in the pre-feasibility study. We expect further positive drill results from Wellgreen shortly.”
Wellgreen features a low 2.59-to-1 strip ratio, is situated at an altitude of 1,300 meters, and is only 15 kilometers from the two-lane paved Alaska Highway. Those factors significantly minimize the project's indirect costs.
For the complete company statement with full tabulation of the drilling results, please visit:
http://prophecyplat.com/news_2012_sep11_prophecy_platinum_drill_results.php
