The Early Monetary History of Roman Wales: Identity, Conquest and Acculturation on the Imperial Fringe

ABSTRACT Over 52,000 Roman coins have been recorded and published from Wales. Using this comprehensive numismatic sample, this article investigates how coins of different metals and denominations were used and lost in western Britain during the later Iron Age and early Roman periods. The analysis of coins from hoards, excavated sites and single finds produces a more detailed picture of coin supply and use in Roman Britain than has been the case in the past and, consequently, it is now possible to provide a relatively sophisticated description of the monetization of Wales in the decades immediately before and after the conquest in the later first century A.D. The complexities of the early numismatic history of Wales are explored using a series of chronological and regional case-studies, while the discussion emphasises the role of native traditions in shaping local responses to the appearance of coinage and the foreign practices associated with using Roman imperial currency.