I just acquired two coins from the Bishop's Wood hoard of 1895. They were discovered in a jar along an old wall in England by workers building a road. It totaled 17,550 coins, mostly Constantinian. It seems that the hoard was likely newly imported into England, as none of the coins are from London, rather all are from foreign mints, primarily Trier, Lyons and Arles. The hoard was probably meant to be used to pay troops in the area.Through the years the hoard was scattered and many examples were given to museums. In 2010, Baldwins auctioned off the remaining 1,661 coins along with the repaired jar that had stayed with the original landowner.
There was a single Diocletian coin in the hoard. Note that the Numismatic Chronicle article had the obverse legend wrong- P P instead of P F.Diocletian
A.D. 296
Æ fraction
IMP C C VAL DIOCLETIANVS P F AVG; radiate, draped & cuirassed bust right
CONCORDIA MIL-ITVM; Diocletian standing right receiving Victory from Jupiter standing left with long scepter; ✶ over Γ in center.
in ex. ANT
RIC VI Antioch 60a
The Constantine I from Lyons was one of two with the same mintmark, though the Numismatic Chronicle (1896) gives both as ✶SLG, while the example below is ✶PLGConstantine I
A.D. 336
CONSTANTINVS MAX AVG; rosette-diadem, draped and cuirassed bust right.
GLORIA EXERCITVS; Two soldiers helmeted, stg. facing one another, reversed spear in outer hands, inner hands on shields resting on the ground; between them one standard.
in ex. ✶PLG
RIC VII Lyons 280
