The coinage of Rome seems to have continued in circulation in the north of England for a very short time after the departure of the Roman forces from Britain. Saxon money is found in Northumberland of a date coeval with the arrival of that people, but is never mingled with the Roman coinage. The coins of the Romans, on the other hand, are never accompanied by those of their successors. Within about forty years after the departure of the Romans, the circulation of the imperial coinage seems to have ceased. This circumstance proves incontestibly that a mighty political revolution had taken place in the interval. The present appearance of the stations corroborates the idea. The walls have been forcibly thrown down, the statues and other objects within them purposely mutilated, and the whole inclosure rendered, as far as possible unfit for human habitation. [Sidenote: THORNGRAFTON COINS.] To attempt a description of even the principal coins that can still be ascertained to have been procured from the district of the Wall, would be to compose a treatise upon numismatics. It will perhaps be sufficient to lay before the reader a brief [Illustration: Vessel, in which the Thorngrafton Coins were found] account of the hoard which was discovered in 1837, in an ancient quarry near Thorngrafton. The coins, sixty-five in number, were contained in a small skiff-shaped receptacle with a circular handle. The vessel represented in the adjoining wood-cut is about six inches long; the lid has a hinge at one end, and fastens with a spring at the other. The coins are at present in the possession of the brother of the quarryman who discovered them, and he holds them with such tenacity, that my artist was refused permission to see even the case which contained them, though he had taken a journey of thirty miles for the purpose of drawing them. Mr. Fairless, of Hexham, was more fortunate, and obtained leave to take sealing-wax impressions of the coins, from which the wood-cuts have been prepared. I am indebted to Mr. Fairless for the description of the coins, which he took from the pieces themselves. GOLD. [Illustration] _Obv._ TI. CLAVD. CAESAR. AVG. GERM. P.M. TRIB.POT. P.P. _Rev._ NERO CLAVD. CAES. DRVSVS. GERM. PRINC. IVVENT. [Illustration] _Obv._ NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS. _Rev._ SALVS. [Illustration] _Obv._ IMP. CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG. _Rev._ A Victory holding a garland over the head of a Roman soldier, and in the exergue, COS. VIII. SILVER. 1. _Obv._ IMP. NERO CAESAR AVGVSTVS. _Rev._ SALVS. Device same as in gold above. [Illustration] 2. _Obv._ IMP. SER. GALBA CAESAR AVG. _Rev._ DIVA AVGVSTA. [Illustration] 3. _Obv._ IMP. SER. GALBA CAESAR AVG. _Rev._ S.P.Q.R. OB. C.S. (Within a wreath.) 4. _Obv._ SER. GALBA AVG. _Rev._ Same as last. [Illustration] 5. _Obv._ OTHO CAESAR AVG. _Rev._ PONT. MAX. [Illustration]