This is such a vast subject, that there will be highlighted links posted throughout to take you to experts & sites that are dedicated to one particular coin or a series of coins, offering a much easier solution to the problem of identification…
To start with, the everyday run-of-the-mill coins we find as metal detectorists are too far gone for us to identify, let alone be able to have a positive ID, but when we find a coin that has something left, i personally think we all should try to find an ID… most people, instead of trying themselves to find the age of a coin will turn to the social media sites, my personal thoughts on this that it is sad, as people are missing out on a large part of metal detecting, its great as a confirmation, but here and throughout this little piece of the internet is my own library of where i go to for identification of the artefacts i have found…
a quick few words on the first British coins
Iron Age coins an id of Celtic Coins by Van Arsdell
P.A.S. & the Iron Age Coins
when we had the Roman Invasion of 53BC the iron age coins were still in use, & maybe right through until the middle of the first century circulating amongst the early Roman coinage… Roman Coinage is such a vast subject, and a subject that has more stories to tell than any book written at the time of the coins issue, and one of the most important works that have been written on the subject matter of Roman Coins and is recognised worldwide is the Roman Imperial Coinage or RIC’s as it is more commonly known, and being such a vast subject, this is wrote in twelve volumes with material being added all the time, each of the corresponding links here are the twelve volumes, an ideal reference work…
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-1
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-2
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-3
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-4B
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-4C
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-5A
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-5B
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-6
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-7
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-8
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-9
Roman-Imperial-Coins-RIC-Volume-10
As with all books on coin identification, it is best to know the emperor, but sometimes that is impossible and so a visual ID, has to be used, with some brilliant websites such as wildwind which helps puts the pieces of the puzzle together, or if you know its a later bronze coin and visual is better this site will do the job of a hundred different sites…But Failing that, look at these following books, the first two links are just an introduction, from link three it gets interesting…
Section 4 Hadrian – C. Albinus
Section 5 S. Severus – U. Antoninus
Section 6 Valerian I – Julian I
Section 7 Diocletian – Constantius II 497 
Section 8 Magnentius – R. Augustus
The coins of Munda, is another front cover news for the Roman Empire, after the battle with the Pompeian Army, a very good and interesting read from V-Coins, as all Roman coins are the Facebook of their time, charting their success through the coinage…
It seems that when later on, in the twilight years of the Roman Empire coins took on a shoddy and somewhat irregular size and shape.
Now after the Romans buggered oft to lands far away, and a couple of hundred years later we were infiltrated by the Angels, Saxons, and the Jutes, with the Saxons being the more powerful they produced their first coinage…
Northeast Detectorist 