August 2022 is almost a century since the hoard of gold coins, medallions and other items was discovered. Although the 1922 Arras hoard (also known as the Beaurains hoard) is not from the time of Carausius, the contents contain numismatic items being through to 315AD, it is inextricably linked to the period. The find contained two aurei from the London mint, struck in the names of Carausius (Huvelin 19) and Maximianus (Huvelin 20), both from the series of coins know colloquially as the three emperors series. However, it is the five aurei piece of Constantius Chlorus from the Trier mint that showed his triumphant entry into London after the defeat of Allectus that the find is best known for.
The original ownership of the hoard needs to be commented on as there are some unusual features. Are we dealing here with the accumulated savings, bolstered by imperial donativa or gifts of a single individual or, perhaps a couple of individuals possibly with a familial connection?
The value of donativa "benchmarks" in the Arras hoard (A=aurei, S=solidi)
From the data we have, reconstructed by Bastien and Metzger in 1977 and known to be incomplete due to theft and potentially the retention by the finders of at least one medallion, it becomes clear from a tabulation of the contents that the material has a western bias and linked to the rise of Constantius, yet declines in value in the reign of his son, Constantine the Great. Are we looking at the accumulated wealth of, say, father and son from their military careers, the reduction in benefits reflecting the son’s youth and lower rank? An alternative hypothesis is that what we have here is the accumulated wealth, boosted by donativa, of a single individual who is close to Maximianus, Constantius and the imperial entourage who retires and receives Constantinian donativa at a lower rate as a mark of ongoing respect for previous faithful service.
Finally can we append any name to an owner of at least part of this deposit? The answer is yes we can!
The largest known medallion in the find is a unique 9 aurei piece of Constantine I (reported as 10 aurei, RIC VI Trier 801) from AD 310. This piece, Bastien and Metzger 446, offered in the first of Sotheby's Nelson Bunker Hunt sales (19 June 1990, lot 156) clearly shows graffiti on both the obverse and reverse. When the same medallion was offered in the NAC sale of the Martin Schoyen collection (9 April 1996, Lot 406) the graffito on the left of the figure of Constantine on the reverse was read, anticlockwise, as VITALIANI P P O.
What is known of this individual, the praetorian prefect Vitalianus? Sadly nothing. The PLRE is silent on his career. It does allow us, at least, to attach one named individual to one piece in the find and, perhaps, reconstruct the career, through imperial gifts, of a high ranking individual in the western provinces during the late third and early fourth centuries AD.
