A C A S E S T U DY O N H O W T O I D E N T I F Y T H E M

ROMAN IMPERIAL COINS

Gustavo TrappJune 18th, 2012

EXAMPLE

Coin found in Sanisera in 2011

Obverse side Reverse side

OBVERSE

TITLESAVG. Augustus or AugustaARM. Armeniacus (conqueror of Armenia).BRIT. Britanicus (conqueror of Britian.CAESAR, CAES. Heir to the throne.CENS. or CENS. PER. Censor PerpetuusCOS. or C. ConsulDAC. Dacicus (conqueror or Dacia).DIVI, DIVO or DIVA Divine (acclaimed a deity).D.N. Dominus Noster ('Our Lord').F. or FIL. or FILI Filius or Filia GERM. Germanicus (conqueror of Germany).IMP. Imperator (supreme army commander).IMP. C. Imperator Caesar.NOB. Nobilissimus or Nobilissima (noble).N. C., NOB. CAES. Nobilitas Caesar ("Royal Heir").OPTIMO or OPTIMO PRINCIPI Best ruler.PART. Parthicus (conqueror of Parthia).PERP. Perpetuatae (forever or for life).P. F. Pius Felix (dutiful and wise).P. M., PON. M. Pontifex Maximus.P. P. Pater Patriae (father of the country).PRINC. IVVENT. Princeps Iuventis (young prince)

TypeFigure of the emperor or

empress

LegendName & Titles

OBVERSE LEGEND

? ? ? ? ? O D O

N T E ?

Check the roman emperor's list, e.g.: http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/i.html

TheodoraTheodosius ITheodosius II

CANDIDATES

Theodosius I - last emperor to rule both western and eastern halves of the roman empire, from 379 to 395 AD

Theodosius II - Byzantine emperor, 408 to 450 AD

Theodora - Roman empress, second wife of Constantius I, 337to 340 AD (but has a different hair style)

REVERSE

No Inscription

Reverse Design:

Exergue: SHKΓ or SMKΓ

VOTX

MVLTXX

EXEGUER

SHKΓ or

SMKΓ

Minting house abbreviation

Last letter: Officinae (workshop)roman letter - western mintgreek letter - eastern mint

3rd workshop

SMK - Cyzicus, Turkey 294-491AD

DESIGN

VOTX

MVLTXX

Vows for 10 years reign, wishing for 10 additional

Votis Decennalibus

Multis Vicennalibus

Could not find this design on coins from Theodosius II

EXAMPLES

CONCLUSION

• Coin is probably from Theodosius I (379-395 AD)• Full legend is DN THEODO [SIVS PF AVG] • Dominus Noster THEODOSIUS Pius Felix Augustus• Our Lord THEODOSIUS Dutiful & Wise Augustus

• Minted in Cyzicus • Officinae #3 • Between 389 and 395 AD

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Reading and Cataloguing Roman coins - http://coins.calkinsc.com/old_site/rcrc/rcrc.html

• Virtual Catalog of Roman Coins - http://vcrc.austincollege.edu/

• Portable Antiques Scheme - http://finds.org.uk/romancoins

• List of Roman Mints: http://www.time-lines.co.uk/glossary-of-ancient-roman-coin-mintmarks-3042-0.html

• NumisWiki - http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/

• Abreviaturas numismática romana - http://www.tesorillo.com/roma/abreviaturas_af.htm

• Wildwinds - http://wildwinds.com/coins/ric/i.html

• Cyzicus - http://www.numisology.com/Cyzicus.htm