Ancients Phil Gaither March 19 2015 Roman Republican
Ancients Phil Gaither - March 19, 2015
Roman Republican Die
Imperial mints that Constantine issued coins
Mints of Rome • • • • Alexandria, (Egypt) 294 A. D until closed by Leo I in the mid 5 th century. Ambianum, (Amiens, France) 350 -353 AD Antioch/Antiochia, (Antakiyah, Syria) closed by Leo I Aquileia, (Italy) 294 -425 AD Arelatum/Constantina, (Arles, France) 313 -475 AD. Barcino, (Barcelona, Spain) 409 -411 AD under Constantine III. Caesara, (Banias, Israel) Augustus to Civil Wars of 69. Camulodunum, (Colchester, England) 287 -296 A. D. Carthage/Carthago, (near Tunis, North Africa) 296 -307 and 308 -311 AD. Clausentum, (Bitterne, England). Constantinopolis or Byzantium, (Istanbul, Turkey) 326 AD through the Byzantine Empire. Cyzicus, (Kapu Dagh, Turkey) closed by Leo I. Emesa, (Syria) Macrianus 260 -261 C. E. Heraclea, (Eregli, Turkey) 291 AD until closed by Leo I. Londinium, (London, England) 287 - 325 and 383 - 388 AD.
Mints of Rome • • • • Lugdunum, (Lyons, France) closed 423 AD. Mediolanum, (Milan, Italy) 364 - 475 AD. Nicomedia, (Izmit, Turkey) 294 AD until closed by Leo I. Ostia, (Port of Rome) 308 - 313 AD. Ravenna, (Italy) 5 th Century until 475 AD. Rome, (Italy) closed 476 AD. Serdica, (Sophia, Bulgaria) 303 - 308 and 313 - 314 AD. Sirmium, (near Sremska Mitrovica) 320 - 326 and 351 - 364, 379 and 393 - 395 AD. Siscia, (Sisak, Croatia) closed 387 AD. Thessalonica, (Salonika, Greece) 298 AD until closed by Leo I. Ticinum, (Pavia, Italy) closed 326 AD. Treveri, (Trier, Germany) 291 - 430 AD. Viminacium, (Kostolac, Yugoslavia) under Valerian 253 - 260 AD.
Roman Mint Marks • The introduction of mintmarks was primarily for quality control • Around the middle the 3 rd century C. E. , Roman mints began incorporating mint marks on their coins, also often the officina (workshop) that minted the coin. • The coins could be traced to the offending mint and the officials held liable.
Roman Mint Marks • Mint marks are located on the reverse of the coin at the bottom in an area known as the ‘exergue’. • In some cases, part of the mint mark (such as the officina or workshop) may be found in the body of the reverse design or even on the obverse field. • Being able to read the mints is very helpful in fully attributing a coin and is necessary if using RIC as your attribution source.
The exergue • The Romans never established a consistent system for applying the mint marks and their mint marks contain one to four characters: • 1 st – a letter: P (Pecunia = money), M (Moneta) or SM (Sacra Moneta = Imperial money). • 2 nd – Mint city abbreviation (usually one to four letters, but up to seven). • 3 rd – a single letter indicating the Officina or workshop. Latin letter, a Greek letter or letters or a Roman numeral indicating the officina. In the Latin system, the officina was indicated by A = prima or 1 st officina, B = secunda or 2 nd, C = tertia or 3 rd, etc. • 4 th – Series marks. Many mintmarks also include symbols such as dots, a crescent, or a branch, for example.
Londinum, LON
Heraclea, H, HER
Nikomedia, SMN
Reverses • There were no newspapers • Coins were widely circulated throughout the empire • Coin obverses depicted the bust of the emperor (or empress) or future heir (Caesar) • The reverses varied - proclaimed battle victories, personifications of emperor, announcements, etc.
Vespasian 69 -79 AD • Judea Captive
Trajan’s Via Traiana - 111 AD •
Constantine’s Death
Camp Gates / Signal Towers
Campgate with Turrets and Eagles
Signal Tower
Certified Ancients
Faustina - Lifetime Issue
Diva Faustina
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
Advantages to Buying Ancient Coins • Ancient coin market is so small that is not being manipulated like the gold and silver market. • Ancient coins are valued by collectors for their aesthetic beauty and history as opposed to their intrinsic. • Not everyone knows that ancient coins exist for sale, and if they did, that would lead to a meteoric rise in prices for ancient coins.
Advantages to Buying Ancient Coins • There is such a huge variety of ancient coins to collect. • Ancient coins preserve our connection to the past. You are a museum curator. • Make great teaching aids for learning about ancient history. • Ancient coins transport us to places where we dream to be. Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt are all accessible from the comfort of your own home.
Researching Ancient Coins • • Internet offers research sources EBay - Ancient Coin Search option Search Ancients online at Vcoins. com Reference source at wildwinds. com
Questions? •
- Slides: 26