Why Are So Many Ancient Coins Struck Off-Center? - Page 2

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Author	Replies: 19 / Views: 1,921	Page: of 2

floyd5175 Valued Member United States 86 Posts	Posted 02/13/2025 12:45 pm Were silver blanks hot at the time of striking? Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16839 Posts	Posted 02/13/2025 4:37 pm We don't think so. Silver is soft enough not to need it. Unlike with copper/bronze coins, there is no evidence the blanks were handled with tongs. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16839 Posts	Posted 02/13/2025 5:15 pm Quote: How big was the hammer to strike those coins? It must have had heft to drive the design that deeply. We don't have any unequivocal coin-minting hammers that have survived, so all we have to go on are (a) surviving hammers of various kinds, which may or may not be relevant, and (b) illustrations of the hammers in pictures of coin manufacturing. For surviving hammers, the weight ranges from under 100g to over a kilogram; half a kilogram (two Roman pounds) seems like a typical blacksmith's hammer weight. For images, this old thread has a collection of pictures of coins which are believed to depict coin-minting tools. The hammers all seem to be quite small: The figures depicted holding the hammers in the above examples are all holding them one-handed, though the long handle implies they were actually held two-handed during the striking. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7953 Posts	Posted 02/14/2025 09:03 am Quote: We don't think so. Silver is soft enough not to need it. I know we're talking about ancients, but I wonder if that changed with the introduction of large silver coins in the 15th century (since if diameter doubles you need to hit the coin four times as hard ... unless you soften it). Report this Post to the Staff
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