| Author |
 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,757 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
I got to cherrypick these out of a lot of later Roman coins (which on the whole were decent, although these stood out as the best of them). I realize they're likely very common, but I'd just like to have my evaluation of them verified or corrected. The one on the left is 20.7 x 18.4 mm and weighs 2.92 grams. My best take on the mint mark is "SMHP" which I'm interpreting as "sacred money struck by the first works at Heraclea". The other, about 18 mm in diameter and coming in at 2.32 grams, was obviously minted at Siscia. I believe the portrait is a personification of the city of Constantinople, the coin probably celebrating its designation as the new capitol of the Roman Empire. The standing figure on the reverse, lthough there is no legend, appears to be Victory.   Colligo ergo sum
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1045 Posts |
The mint mark for your VOT coin is actually SMHB (possibly a dot too), so workshop #2
And yes the second coin is a City Commemorative from Siscia
Two nice coins. I particular like the imperial mantle on the City Commemorative
Edited by Biancasdad
03/20/2016 01:10 am
|
|
Valued Member
United States
129 Posts |
Nice looking examples. I agree, it looks like 'SMHB .'
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
4883 Posts |
Well, I'll be darned if today I didn't run across another of the city commemoratives of essentially the same design but with dies that were even more delicately executed. Size is 16.1 x 16.9 mm, weight 2.57 grams. The mint mark seems to be "SMANI" although upon closer examination, I might be persuaded that it could be "SMANT". In either case, I'm reasonbly confident in positing that this one was struck at Antioch.   Colligo ergo sum
|
|
Moderator
 United States
23731 Posts |
Two very nice coins. The MM is SMHB dot. Couldn't find an exact match for VOT dot XX star with the SMHB dot MM. The closest I got was Ric VII Heraclea 64
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
949 Posts |
In the western Roman empire, Latin predominated, in the east the principle spoken language was Greek. So the mints to the west of Rome, as well as the city of Rome, numbered their officina on the coins with the initials of the Latin ordinals:
P = Prima = 1st
S = Secunda = 2nd
T = Tertia = 3rd
Q = Quarta = 4th
The mints east of Rome used Greek numerals for the officina numbers on their coins:
A = Alpha = 1
B = Beta = 2
<G> = Gamma = 3
<D> = Delta = 4 etc.
If you keep this east-west distinction of language in mind, then you can see why the last character in your coin from Antioch cannot be a T. The mint mark for Antioch is sometimes rendered with a SMANT base, but this is without an officina designation. In such a case the officina number will appear in one of the fields above the exergue. There is no such mark in the fields of this coin, so we must look for it in the exergual mark.
Your mark reads SMANI with a final iota for the officina.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1045 Posts |
Thank you Irbguy for such an informative and easy to understand explanation. As usual, another excellent post for our members  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Quote:
Your mark reads SMANI with a final iota for the officina. Maybe this question reveals me to be a bit dense, but just to be certain I'm understanding this correctly, then is that final "I" not to be taken as a Roman numeral "1" or the Roman vowel, but rather the Greek letter iota signifying the 9th (by my count) works at Antioch? Also, one further detail - I made a typo on the weight of this specimen, it's actually 2.67 grams. I'd add that it's interesting that its alloy appears more "bronzish" than the Siscia version, which seems a bit on the "brassy" side to me. Colligo ergo sum
Edited by Lucky Cuss
03/21/2016 9:51 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
949 Posts |
Quote:
is that final "I" not to be taken as a Roman numeral "1" or the Roman vowel, but rather the Greek letter iota signifying the 9th (by my count) works at Antioch?
correct. RIC VII Antioch #92 |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4971 Posts |
here's an "SMHB" vot I had for years before I got around to taking a pic of it. still not a great pic.  Constantine I, 324 AD O: CONSTAN TINVSAVG R: DNCONSTANTINIMAXAVG, VOT XX star, SMHB in ex, RIC VII Heraclea 60, 2.0 g, 20 mm |
| |
Replies: 9 / Views: 1,757 |
|
Posted 03/20/2016 02:24 am
