Roman Imperial Coinage

A common problem that occurs when interpreting finds of perforated Roman coins is their function and whether they were perforated in Roman times or later. Hence, the specimens which originate from an undisturbed archaeological context, as is the case with finds from the Viminacium necropolis of Pe}ine, are indispensable. A total of 45 perforated coins were discovered at Pe}ine: 23 from graves and 22 from sacrificial areas.

Kubitschek contributed his research on the Ara Pacis coins of Nero and Domitian to Petersen in 1901/02 but found P was not going to make sufficient use of them, so he published the article himself.  K went to much effort to find the best preserved museum pieces, only to discover it was easy to buy just as good coins in the Paris antiquities markets.  He sees the differences between Nero's and Domitian's issues, which are different sides of the same building.  Simplifications on the coins should not reject the whole (do not throw out the baby with bathwater) because it is hard to render accuracy on a coin of a building like the Ara Pacis or Trajan's Column.

The article concerns 23 ancient coins (8 Greek, 1 Numidian, and 14 Roman) from the museum collection in Inowrocław. One coin comes from archaeological excavations (a Trajanic denarius type RIC 6), the rest from donations and purchases. The coins donated to the museum are chance finds, however the donors indicated the place where they were found. The remaining coins have been purchased from old collections. In one case
their previous owner is known: Kazimierz Miaskowski (1875-1947), a catholic priest, and author of many publications associated with the Inowrocław region. The land around Inowrocław stands out as an area in which many ancient coins have been found. The author analyses coins from the museum against the background of finds from the Inowrocław area. Many of the coins in the collection are likely to have been found in the immediate area of the town. The author also tries to reconstruct the collections from which they came, and the fate of these collections.

The paper treats one of the most rare and interesting early Roman coins minted in Thrace under Claudius – sestertii for Britannicus Caesar, for Agrippina Minor and for young Nero, struck in the period ca. AD 50/51 – 54. It is assumed that they were produced in the civic mint of Perinthus, the provincial capital of Thrace. The following specimens of Britannicus Caesar are discussed within:
1) Sestertius, type B, 35 mm, 27.14 g; from the sacred spring at Aquae Calidae, 1910 – Berlin coin collection, acc. no. 1924/489; object ID 18202639 (von Kaenel 1984, 130, B.4). 
2) Sestertius, type B, from the collection of Mr. Panayotoff in the 1920’s – cast kept in the Stadtliche Museen at Berlin (von Kaenel 1984, 131, B.5).
3) Sestertius, type B, 36 mm; unknown weight, provenance not known – kept in the National History Museum in Sofia since 1979 (Божкова 1980, 10-11).
4) Sestertius, type A, 33 mm, 28.46 g; from excavations in central Sofia (metro station 8-II), campaign 2011 – published by Владимирова-Аладжова 2011, 110-116.
Whatever the case with the actual mint, these ‘Roman’ series of Claudius may be regarded as special issues for the first Roman troops and administration in the province of Thrace, shortly after the annexation and pacification of the country.

Este artículo pretende demostrar que Augusto nació en el mes de diciembre astronómico, bajo el signo de Capricornio, en una fecha que se correspondía con el septiembre calendárico debido a las viejas discrepancias del calendario tradicional romano con respecto a la realidad astronómica, así como señalar la endeblez de las demás teorías propuestas acerca de esta cuestión.

The Papers in this volume, edited by David Jacobson and Nikos Kokkinos, are based on presentations at an international two-day conference held at Spink & Son in London on 13-14 September, 2010. The period covered spans the Roman conquest of Judaea by Pompey through to the last major Jewish uprising against Rome under Shimon Bar-Kokhba, encompassing the age of the Herods and the birth of Christianity. These contributions focus on the relations between Rome and Judaea as reflected in the numismatic record, during this momentous period of history. The past few decades have seen considerable advances in numismatic scholarship dealing with this period, partly stimulated by archaeological exploration and numerous coin finds, which have shed light on these historical events and associated political, social and economic issues.
My article, entitled "The Significance of the Caduceus between Facing
Cornucopias in Herodian and Roman Coinage" is reproduced in full below.

The discovery of twelve denarii found individually between 1985 and 1991 at New Fordey Farm, Barway, Soham in Cambridgeshire complements finds of aurei and denarrii at the same location reported in 1958, 1979, 1981 and 1984. The presence of associated pottery sherds, and progressively decreasing wear from oldest to youngest coin, identify this as a disturbed hoard of at least 451 coins (the total found to date) with a closing date of AD 180 in the reign of Commodus (AD 180–92). This paper describes the most recent finds and places them in the context of the earlier reports and what is known of Roman activity in the immediate vicinity, before considering possible reasons for their deposition.

The Colosseum is well understood as a dynastic monument that was key to the Flavian building programme and to Flavian ideology. From this point of view it has been approached as the fulfilment of Augustus's ambition for a large-scale amphitheatre, as serving to diminish Nero's memory as it was constructed on the atrium of his dismantled Golden House, and as a victory monument built with the spoils of the Jewish War. One important political aspect of this dynastic monument has been largely overlooked: its connection with emperor worship. Outside Rome, it is well known that amphitheatres served as a venue for the procession and placement of imperial cult images; in Rome, the Circus Maximus and the theatres were venues for the display of imperial images and attributes brought in during their respective pompae. Through the deployment of textual, topographical and visual evidence, this article demonstrates that the Colosseum also had a pulvinar that displayed images and attributes of the gods and divi brought in during the pompa. The location of the pulvinar and the mechanisms by which it was serviced are explored, as are the ideological implications of cultic activity in the Colosseum.Il Colosseo è considerato un monumento dinastico, chiave del programma edilizio e dell'ideologia flavia. Da questo punto di vista è stato considerato in molti modi: compimento del desiderio di Augusto di un anfiteatro di grandi dimensioni, o ancora la sua edificazione è stata letta come volontà di oblio di Nerone, essendo stato costruito sull'atrio della demolita Domus Aurea e anche come monumento legato alla vittoria di un evento bellico, costruito con le prede della guerra giudaica. Tuttavia un importante aspetto politico di questo monumento dinastico è stato ampiamente tralasciato: la sua connessione con il culto imperiale. Al di fuori di Roma, è ben noto come gli anfiteatri servissero come sede per la processione e per collocarvi le immagini di culto imperiali. In Roma il Circo Massimo e i teatri erano sedi in cui venivano esibiti le immagini imperiali e gli attributi portati durante le rispettive pompae. Attraverso l'analisi di testi, fonti topografiche e iconografiche, il presente articolo dimostra come il Colosseo fosse fornito anche di un pulvinar, in cui venivano esposte immagini e attributi degli dei e divi portati nella processione. Vengono esaminati la localizzazione del pulvinar e il meccanismo di manutenzione, nonché le implicazioni ideologiche dell'attività cultuale all'interno del Colosseo.

The aim of the article is to present the author's interpretation of the image of Emperor Maximinus Thrax ruled in 235-238, from the perspective of the ideology of peace contained in the iconographic program of his coinage, and in the context of messages contained in the historiographic tradition. The source basis is the monetary emissions appearing in the Roman Empire in the years 235-238, and literary works, among which the greatest role in presenting the image of the prevailing is the History of the Roman Empire of Herodian, and the work of the conventional title Scriptores Historiae.

This article is the first systematic attempt for collection and arrangement of the early Roman coin finds from Novae – a large legionary fortress on the Lower Danube excavated without interruption since 1960. It contains a complete identification of all published coins from the site excavations as well as a thorough check of inventory books in Svishtov Museum. No less than 252 coins (total 407 with the suburbia finds) of the Early Principate period (Augustus to Trajan) are catalogued and further analysed. A small hoard of six Claudian and Neronian aes-coins (down to AD 64/5) found in the street sewage by the legion’s Principia is also discussed. A comparative analysis of coin denominations which occur at Novae is applied. Of particular value for the current analysis is the chronological overlapping of small finds (terra sigillata from North Italy and Gaul, imported glass, amphorae, etc.) associated with the Julio-Claudian and Flavian coins excavated in sectors X, XI and XVIII. Paper provides insight for the early phases of habitation and emphasizes on the purely military character of Novae until Hadrian.

ABSTRACT: This booklet is the extended second edition of the fonts of the Roman Imperial Coinage, which I published in 2016 on academia.edu. The circa 550 numismatic symbols used in the volumes of the Roman Imperial Coinage (RIC) are here presented as independent fonts for Mac, Windows and Unix. They are also available with a dot under them to correspond with the Leiden Conventions. All glyphs are also published as scalable vector graphics (svg) to be seen in a modern web browser like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Safari. Following installation, the symbols may be enlarged or reduced, written bold, italic or underlined and freely combined with other font types. The various die positions and legend forms can be illustrated by means of numerous arrows- straight, semicircular or in 3/4 circular form (translated by Claire Franklin).

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Das vorliegende Heftchen ist die erweiterte zweite Auflage der Fonts für RIC, welche im Jahre 2016 publiziert wurden. Die rund 550 Sonderzeichen, die in den Bänden des RIC benutzt werden, liegen hier als Schriftarten für die Betriebssysteme Windows, Mac und Unix vor. Jedes Zeichen ist nun auch mit Unterpunkt, entsprechend dem Leidener Klammersystem, verfügbar. Alle Sonderzeichen sind als skalierbare Vectorgraphiken (svg) beigefügt und können mit jedem modernen Browser wie Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge oder Safari betrachtet werden. Nach der Installation können die Sonderzeichen wie jeder andere Zeichensatz vergrößert, verkleinert, fett, kursiv oder unterstrichen dargestellt und beliebig mit anderen Schriftarten kombinierten werden. Die verschiedenen Stempelstellungen und Legendenanordnungen lassen sich mit einer Vielzahl von geraden, halbrunden oder dreiviertelkreisförmigen Pfeilen darstellen.

RÉSUMÉ: Le présent livret est la deuxième édition étendue des polices de caractères pour RIC, publiée en 2016. Les quelque 550 caractères spéciaux utilisés dans les volumes du RIC sont ici disponibles sous forme de polices pour les systèmes d'exploitation Windows, Mac et Unix. Chaque caractère est désormais également disponible avec un sous-point, conformément au système de parenthèses de Leiden. Tous les caractères spéciaux sont joints sous forme de graphiques vectoriels évolutifs (svg) et peuvent être visualisés avec n'importe quel navigateur moderne comme Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge ou Safari. Après l'installation, les caractères spéciaux peuvent être agrandis, réduits, mis en gras, en italique ou soulignés comme tout autre jeu de caractères et combinés à volonté avec d'autres polices. Les différentes positions des tampons et les dispositions des légendes peuvent être représentées par une multitude de flèches droites, semi-circulaires ou en trois quarts de cercle (traduit avec www.DeepL.com).

SOMMARIO: Questo opuscolo è la seconda edizione ampliata dei caratteri per RIC, pubblicata nel 2016. I circa 550 caratteri speciali utilizzati nei volumi RIC sono qui disponibili come font per i sistemi operativi Windows, Mac e Unix. Ogni carattere è ora disponibile anche con un sottopunto, secondo il sistema di parentesi di Leida. Tutti i caratteri speciali sono allegati come grafica vettoriale scalabile (svg) e possono essere visualizzati con qualsiasi browser moderno come Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge o Safari. Dopo l'installazione, i caratteri speciali possono essere ingranditi, ridotti, grassettati, corsivi o sottolineati come qualsiasi altro set di caratteri e combinati con altri font a piacere. Le diverse posizioni del buffer e la disposizione delle didascalie possono essere rappresentate da una serie di frecce diritte, semicircolari o a tre quarti di cerchio (tradotto con www.DeepL.com).

Cômodo foi o último membro da dinastia dos Antoninos a governar o Império Romano, mantendo-se como princeps entre 180 e 192 EC. Este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar algumas considerações sobre as representações de Cômodo na documentação escrita, produzida por membros da elite do Império e seus contemporâneos, a saber: o senador e historiador Dião Cássio e Herodiano, historiador, provavelmente, da ordem equestre. Cruzaremos as representações textuais com uma análise das fontes numismáticas cunhadas pelo governo de Cômodo, buscando compreender como este imperador queria se apresentar para os diversos grupos da sociedade romana. Alguns temas peculiares do principado comodiano nos textos serão analisados de forma crítica, como a sua tirania por governar sem o senado, sua corrupção por desprezar as convenções romanas e não se comportar como o esperado para alguém com suas responsabilidades. Também serão analisados os usos da figura de Hércules por Cômodo nas moedas e suas apresentações na arena como gladiador se portando como o Hércules Romano. A metodologia de análise textual está embasada em análise interna e externa dos documentos. Para a análise das moedas realizamos um catálogo seguindo o modelo proposto pelo antiquista Carlos Eduardo da Costa Campos em sua tese de doutorado.

This paper proposes a reflection on some AE4 apparently assignable to the end of the fifth century for which attributions to the Mauro-Roman Masuna or the usurper Leontius were proposed in the past. The coins, linked by the style of the busts and the legends of the obverse, are mainly treated starting from three different types of reverse: the cross in wreath or beaded circle, the victory advancing left with wreath and palm branch, and the monogram. The authors propose for these issues a possible dating to the end of the fifth century, and a summary of the known findings which, as far as possible, does not seem to exclude the possibility that the minting took place in the eastern Mediterranean area. The plates show many of the specimens known to date for which it was possible to recover an image.

L’articolo propone una riflessione circa alcuni AE4 apparentemente riconducibili alla fine del V secolo per i quali in passato vennero proposte attribuzioni al mauro Masuna o all’usurpatore Leonzio. Le monete, accomunate dallo stile dei busti e dalle legende del dritto, sono riconducibili principalmente a tre tipologie di rovescio: croce in ghirlanda o cerchio perlinato, vittoria andante a sinistra con ghirlanda e ramo di palma frontali, e monogramma. Gli autori propongono una possibile datazione alla fine del V secolo per queste emissioni, e presentano una summa dei ritrovamenti noti che, per quanto possibile, sembra non escludere la possibilità che la coniazione sia avvenuta nell’area orientale del Mediterraneo. Le tavole propongono molti degli esemplari ad oggi noti per i quali è stato possibile recuperare un’immagine.

Extended translation by Dane "Helvetica" Kurth (wildwinds.com) of the article by Jacqueline Lallemand
in Revue Belge de Numismatique, 1951, pp. 89-103 and plate VI. With additional images, references and lists including RIC, BMC, Cohen, Sear etc.

This paper draws on data from two projects, the British Museum/Leicester Hoards project, which gathered records of 3,223 hoards of Iron Age and Roman coins from Britain, and the Oxford Coin Hoards of the Roman Empire project, which is gathering data on Roman coin hoards from across the Roman Empire, to make long-range comparisons of hoarding across different parts of the Empire by century. It adopts a broad-brush approach as the Oxford project is still adding data. The paper sets out the number of hoards recorded from each country from the reign of Augustus to the end of the fifth century and it shows that Luxembourg, followed by England and Israel have the highest number of coin hoards; it then considers the various factors governing the recovery and recording of hoards and the method of discovery of finds, before examining the chronological distribution of hoarding over the first to fifth centuries. Overall, the third century saw the highest proportion of coin hoards, followed by the fourth century, but there are very wide differences between the hoarding patterns of different countries. Hoards from beyond the frontier are also considered. A final section compares hoarding patterns with single finds of gold coins and suggests avenues for further research.

This contribution is dedicated to a small hoard of Constantinian nummi found in Aquileia in the early '60s, but only recently "rediscovered" in the coin cabinet of the National Museum. 20 of the 21 coins belong to the same issue type VIRT EXERCIT, struck in AD 319 in Thessalonica, specifically conceived for the distribution to the troops and rarely attested among treasure and single finds of the entire Mediterranean area. Within the assemblage, three die-linked specimens have been detected as well as an obverse brockage coin, peculiar features proper to a uniform stock of coins concealed soon after its production. During the struggle for power against Licinius, Constantine the Great visited many times Aquileia between 318 and 319 AD as attested by ancient sources. Given the peculiar traits of the hoard, the owner should be sought among the members of the Constantinian army, following the emperor or involved in supply duties, frequently moving between Northern Italy and the Balkans during the war against the Licinian dynasty.

The Mezul I hoard was discovered in 1966 in the area of Bobovik, a site
on Mezul, in the vicinity of Smederevo. It consists of 272 denarii and antoniniani, spanning the period from Caracalla to Trajan Decius. Another hoard of Roman coins was discovered in the immediate vicinity in that same year, on the same site in the Mazgaj area (Mezul II; Trajan – Philip I). The character of architectural remains at Mezul cannot be clarified without the appropriate archaeological explorations, so the question remains open about whether they were just from a villa rustica or a civilian settlement. Both hoards were found in immediate proximity to the vicinal road (Vinceia i.e. Smederevo – present-day Smederevska Palanka and further on to the south), not far from the main via publica. The listing of numerous, so far unpublished finds from the Roman period, can confirm this route of the vicinal road, which was already proposed earlier. At the same time, they indicate that two
other vicinal roads (viae vicinales) led from Smederevska Palanka, towards Kosmaj and Rudnik, strategically important mining zones in the interior of the province of Moesia Superior.

Comparison between documentation preserved in some spanish archives has allowed to improve our
knowledge about the Duarría gold coin hoard, very bad known since today. We can also indentify ten
of these coins, that were kept in the Gabinete Numismático of the Museo Arqueológico Nacional until
the Civil Spanish War.

This article will introduce a newly discovered as-sized bimetallic medallion of Caracalla and theorize that it was created and intended, as
were many imperial medallions, as a gift in relation to Caracalla’s 4th consulship in January 213 CE.

Cet article présente un nouveau médaillon bimétallique de Caracalla, du module de l’as, et s’attache à montrer qu’il fut fabriqué, comme de
nombreux autres médaillons, afin de servir de cadeau lors du 4e consulat de Caracalla en janvier 213 de n. è.

The matter at issue of this article is golden and silver coinage of Marcus Agrippa during his governorship in Gaul in 38 BC. Comparison of this coinage with contemporary Italian bronze coins shows that the main ideological motive was probably determined by Octavian, but its specific realization belonged to Agrippa. Caesar holds a special place on these coins and his connection with Octavian is stressed by combining the portrait of Caesar with the legend referring to his son, portraits of Caesar and Octavian face to face on the same obverse, Octavian’s beard, legend DIVI F, the title IMP, which was inherited by Octavian from Caesar. The image of the sidus Iulium above the forehead of Caesar, just as it was on his statue erected by Octavian in his honor, also appears for the first time on these very coins. A modest reverse bearing only the name of Marcus Agrippa and his title as COS DESIG serves as a foil to the importance of the obverse. This coinage had to remind the legionaries serving in Gaul that this province had been conquered by Caesar and that Octavian was his true heir. Besides, this coinage also served as a counterbalance to the coinage of Sextus Pompeius. Also coins of Agrippa would help to restore Octavian’s renown as a military leader, which had suffered damage in the war with Sextus Pompeius