Description

Interpretation of coin finds is not quite an easy thing. How to distinguish, e. g., material of 'hoards' from that of 'votive deposits'? Where are the 'border lines' dividing numismatic find categories from each other? Questions like these deserve a closer scrutiny. This book tries to face the problems by: proposing clear definitions for categories and sub-categories of coin finds; by collecting and interpreting written testimonies (from ancient literature, epigraphy and papyrology) casting light on reasons and circumstances of coin deposition and coin loss in antiquity; by describing differences of composition between the categories; by discussing difficulties of 'differential diagnosis'; and the role of secondary finds. For each problem and for each find category a large number of examples is offered.