Coin Finds of the Huddersfield District
By Graham Teasdill
Edited By E. W. Aubrook

CHAPTER 2: ROMAN COINS

THIRSTIN HOARD, HONLEY (National Grid Reference S.E. 135121)
Prior to 1775 a hoard of copper coins was found at Thirstin, near Honley. Gallienus, Victorinus, Tetricus I, Tetricus II, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus, Tacitus, Probus and Salonina were represented.

ELLAND HALL WOOD HOARD (National Grid Reference S.E. 1022)
This hoard of small Roman copper coins was found by workmen in August, 1769 in a cavity of rock under a stone in Elland Hall Wood. Some of these coins passed into possession of the Rev. Watson, Rector of Stockport, and were identified as:-

All the above coins are probably antoniniani. There were in addition four small pieces of copper which appeared to have been cut out of coins fo Tetricus. They may have been barbarous minimi.
Whitaker states that the hoard was contained in an earthen vessel and that it consisted of several hundred small brass chiefly of Carausius, Tetricus I, Tetricus II, Victorinus and Claudius Gothicus with one of Gallienus.

BRADLEY MILLS, 1917.
There is a manuscript in the Tolson Memorial Museum, probably by Dr. T.W. Woodhead, former Hon. Director of the Museum, which describes the finding of a coin at River Walk, Bradley Mills in May, 1917. The coin was found by D.Hall at a depth of five to six feet in the gravel, and was subsequently identified as one of Nero by Professor Woodward of Leeds Woodward.
In the Museum Collection there is a copper as of Vespasian (69-70 A.D.) which was previously attributed to Nero (54-68 A.D. and may therefore be the coin referred to in the above paragraph. This coin was presented to the Museum by Mr. W. Hall, of Leeds Road, Huddersfield and a note with the coin reads “Roman coin Nero, found at Bradley Mills, January 20th, 1920 could be the date of presentation to the Museum rather than the date of discovery and it is therefore not certain whether one or two coins were found at Bradley Mills. The coin is almost eligible.

CASTLESHAW, 1898 (National Grid Reference 999097)
Three silver coins were found at the Roman fort at Castleshaw during 1898, whilst F.W. Chadderton, Ammon Wrigley, Arthur Settle and Percy Winterbottom were digging for traces of Roman remains*. The coins were retained by Chadderton and are now in the Tolson Memorial Museum.

There were, in fact, two Roman forts at Castleshaw, the large first century fort being replaced by a much smaller one at the beginning of the second century. This second fort was probably abandoned during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. Excavations were conducted in 1897-98, 1907-08 and 1957 et seq.

There is no record of any coins being found during the first excavations although there is a reference in the 1908 report to a coin of Vespasian being found previously by Ammon Wrigley. This may well have been found during the spasmodic digging of which mention has already been made.

During the 1907 excavation two sestertii of Trajan were found in the eastern half of the inner fort, one near the hypocaust. A year later a silver coin of Dossenus L. Rubrius (c. 83 B.C) was found in the fort area. A number of other coins was found but they were not considered worthy of description in the excavation reports.

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