Ancients
Phil Gaither - March 19, 2015
Roman Republican Die
Imperial mints that Constantine
issued coins
Mints of Rome
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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
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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 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
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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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