Posted 01/29/2019 5:13 pm
Countermarks are often explained using 'Occams Razor' - the explanation with the fewest assumptions is probably correct. Many countermarks are found only on coins after a certain period (e.g., after the capture of a city, or after the succession of a new ruler), others are found only in a certain location (e.g. another kingdom). Often countermarks are very functional - a retariffing mark perhaps, or marks in another language. For those, we can happily assume what the marks mean.
For others, there is less to go on. The archaeological context may have been obliterated, too, so further clues might never arise. Academics could theorise about what the marks mean, but we will never actually know (and the literature is somewhat hard for us to access, so where conclusions have been put forward, we might not know about them).
For others, there is less to go on. The archaeological context may have been obliterated, too, so further clues might never arise. Academics could theorise about what the marks mean, but we will never actually know (and the literature is somewhat hard for us to access, so where conclusions have been put forward, we might not know about them).
