Crossing boundariesPublications of the National Museum. Studies in archaeology and history #2af Helle W. Horsnæs

The life cycle of a coin is long - one might even argue that its existence as a coin is only a minor part of the recycling of metal. The present investigation covers the later part of the Roman coin´s existence: its arrival in Bornholm, its use there, and its deposition in and recovery from the soil.

Coin finds are evidence of connections between human beings. The coins were brought from one place to another by someone, and there was a reason to do so. Any object acquires new properties when moved from one cultural context to another, and the meaning of the Roman coin in the Danish Iron Age context no doubt differed greatly from its original significance. The Roman denarius was meant to be used as a coin in a monetary economy. Having left the area where the denarius was recognized as coin, it assumed new meanings. But: what were those new meanings? How was the denarius perceived in non-Roman communities? Which purposes did the coin serve?