La produzione della zecca di Mediolanum e la circolazione monetale in città nella seconda metà del III secolo d.C.: monete in viaggio

The paper examines ‘trips’ that could be made by coins, which, although they are inanimate objects, have a marked tendency to mobility. My article is focused on the monetary circulation of Mediolanum in the second half of the 3rd century A.D. when a mint struck in the city. After a brief explanation about the historical-numismatic context that brings to the starting of coins production at Mediolanum and the history of studies concerning the debated opening date of the atelier, fi rstly I will examine ‘short trips’ or ‘non-trips’ of Mediolanum’s coins, analysing how much and which specimens of the local mint (or from other mints) have been found in the archaeological excavations conducted in Milan over the last forty years. Secondly, I will consider ‘long trips’ of coins from Mediolanum to other more or less nearby cities of the Empire. Lastly, I will take into account the composition of a sample of hoards unearthed in a wide area between Britain and the Balkans, hidden in the second half of the 3rd century AD. The comparative view of the different types of coin fi nds remains the best way to reconstruct the circulation of a region, keeping in mind the strengths and limitations of each of them.