The Layton Collection

THE THOMAS LAYTON TRUST & LAYTON'S COLLECTION

Silver radiate coin AD 249 – 251

A silver radiate coin of Empress Herennia Etruscilla, wife of Trajan Decius, ruler of the Roman Empire, AD 249-251. The back of the coin depicts Pudicitia, the female personification of modesty and chastity. This coin was minted in Rome, Italy, AD 249-251.

The Collection

Thomas Layton collected books, coins, and archaeological items (usually described as ‘antiquities’) for 70 years. In that time he had accumulated what has been described as “probably the largest collection of London antiquities ever amassed by a single individual”.

The vast majority of items are believed to have been bought at auctions. Some came to him from his men working on the river. His businesses provided opportunities for finds from dredging, building of bridges and embankments along the banks of the Thames, for which Layton paid good money. Even by the standards of the day Layton kept poor records of where items were found. Despite this, the collection is considered highly important particularly to archaeologists and pre-historians.