This is a study of the so-called Aquileia solidus hoard, discovered on February 11, 1971 during an archaeological excavation of the central nexus of the basilica-forum complex of Aquileia. In an early publication by Giovanni Gorini in 1979, two possible interpretations were proposed. First, the nine solidi could have been deposited relatively soon after minting given their slight wear, possibly early in the reign of Valentinian III, c. 425–430. Second, Gorini pointed out that political circumstances could have forced a deposition in conjunction with the sack of Aquileia in 452. This study argues in favor of the second scenario, while stressing that Gorini’s observation regarding the slight wear was correct. This suggests that the latest solidi in the hoard were issued very late in the reign of Valentinian III, c. 445–452. This argument further relies on the comparative evidence of die-linked solidi for Valentinian III in hoards mainly from Italy and Scandinavia, demonstrating that the solidi for Valentinian III date to the final part of his reign. The hoard should be interpreted as representative of private rather than military hoarding, given that it has retained issues that have otherwise already disappeared from circulation, and is devoid of types related to military expenditure from the same period.
