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 5th 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) 5th 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 3rd 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:

• 1st – a letter: P (Pecunia = money), M (Moneta) or SM (Sacra Moneta = Imperial money).

• 2nd – Mint city abbreviation (usually one to four letters, but up to seven).

• 3rd – 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 1st officina, B = secunda or 2nd, C = tertia or 3rd, etc.

• 4th – 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

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Constantine’s Death

Camp Gates / Signal Towers

Campgate with Turretsand 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?

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