Coinage and Collapse? The contribution of numismatic data to understanding the end of Roman Britain

Abstract

Coinage forms one of the most recognisable categories of material culture dating to the late fourth and early fifth centuries. As a result, it has played a pivotal role in dating the ‘end’ of Roman Britain. This article summarises key numismatic evidence for the period and tries to go beyond chronology, illustrating how hoards and site finds can be used to explore the nature of coin use throughout the diocese of Britannia and to provide some insight into its apparent collapse in the fifth century AD.

Keywords

• archaeolology
• Britannia
• fifth century
• coinage
• solidi
• siliquae
• nummi
• administration
• army
• hoards
• site finds