Page:History of Manchester (1771), Volume 1, by John Whitaker.djvu/319

a88 THE HISTORY Book t Upon the coming of the Romans the Siftuntian mint was ijtopt. But the Romans became coiners for the Britons, No lefs than eleven mints in all probability were eftablifhed within the pale of their own government, two in the two municipia and nine in the nine colonies. And coins minted at Chefter at London and at York at Richborough at Colchefter at Lincoln Verulam and Gloucefter have been fafely tranfmitted to the prefent days 3 Chefter from one fide and York from the other diffufed their minted wealth over Lancafhire. " The Britifh chiefs in general appear* to have had confiderable riches among them. Thus Caeiar acquired. a large booty in his two dcfcents upon the ifland *> Prafutagus the • king of the Iceni died poffefled of very great wealth 5 And to a few ftates in the fouth, and within a few years after their firft fubje&ion, the philofbphical Seneca lent more than even four hundred and eighty thoufand pounds of our money upon good fccurity and exorbitant intereft ". The Roman coins* that circulated in the ifland muft have been gene- rally minted within it, as the great number of the mints fuggefts, and muft have been as generally framed from the native or im- ported bullion of it. The Roman coins, muft have been current in great numbers among the Britons, as the incredible, quantities that have been difcovered within the ifland very clearly demon* Urate. They muft not have circulated merely among the fbldiers and the traders of the Romans. : They muft have circulated among the Britifh chiefs, among the Britifh ambaffon* Hence fuch large treafures of the Roman coins have been formerly found, and are How frequently difcovered, iri; every quarter, of the ifland. And hence fuch large treafures of the Roman coins have particularly rifeiv and are daily riling, to light from the fite and from the vicinity of almoft evtry ftationary town in, the .kingdom".. • 1 Strabo p. 265. — * Ibid, p. 306.—? Csefar p. 88. See Pegge's Coins of Cunobeline p; 3$. And the Romans uied only pieces of iinftamped brafs to the days of ServiusTullius, Pliny lib. 3$. c. 3. — * * The tenour of the hiftoiry in Dio p. 957 — 959 plainly fhews Cfcftpbeliae to have been king of the Caffii as well as of the Trino-