IV Spotlight on New Research

This thesis examines the interregional distribution of newly struck denarii during the second century a.d.(Trajan-Commodus) in order to reconstruct patterns of Roman silver coin supply across the western empire and to contribute toward our understanding of the nature and pace of subsequent circulation.Drawing on a dataset of more than 100,000 denarii from over 300 hoards extracted from the Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire (CHRE) project database, this study represents the first attempt at a broad, interregional analysis of the second-century silver both at the level of the issue and the level of the design.Chi-squared testing is employed to compare observed and expected frequencies of denarii across seven broad regions of the empire, with a particularly strong focus on the frontier regions of Britain, the Rhineland, and the Danube.This approach allows statistically significant deviations from 'normal' distribution to be identified while accounting for major disparities in sample size between regions and hoards.Particular attention is paid to whether discrete batches of coins were preferentially distributed in specific regions and, in turn, whether these shipments reflect regular fiscal-administrative activity, responses to events such as wars, or deliberate acts of audience targeting by the Roman state.Duffy, E.