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Moonmoth - Ancient coins terms Category: History and Culture > Ancient Coins Date & country: 15/11/2007, UK Words: 34

AE
As in 'AE23,' 'AE15' and so on. It means made of a base metal or alloy, usually copper, brass or bronze. For Greek coins, the number identifies the size of the coin in millimetres. For Roman coins, numbers from 1 to 4 indicate a size range. AE1 is over 25mm. AE2 is 21-25 mm. AE3 is 17-21 mm, and AE4 is less than 17mm.

Aegis
A small leather cloak, or sometimes a shield, with the head or mask of Medusa (a gorgoneion) mounted on it.

Antoninianus
The name given in modern times to a Roman coin thought to be twice the value of a denarius. Originally a silver coin. The amount of silver in the mix dropped drastically over the years, and later antoniniani were hard to tell from copper or bronze.

As
Pronounced 'ass.' A copper Roman coin of low value, one-quarter of a sestertius. The plural is 'asses'.

Augur
A man whose job was to divine the future by watching the behaviour of birds. For example, predicting the success of a course of action by observing the flight of birds across the sky. The process is called 'augury.'

Augustus
In popular culture, the name 'Caesar' is often used as a title for all Roman emperors. This indicates that our popular culture is barbarous in nature. Julius' successor, Octavian, took the title 'Augustus' and soon became known by that title. Thereafter, the reigning emperors were referred to as Augusti, and the title 'Caesar' was used by junior partners. Only in outlying countries was the term 'Caesar' retained for the emperor, which led to the use of titles such as 'Tsar' and 'Czar.'

Barbarous
Used of all cultures not assimilated into Roman culture. Thus it could mean areas outside the Roman Empire, and also newly conquered outlying provinces. Usually derogatory. If a coin is referred to as 'barbarous' it means that it was produced unofficially (that is, not made in an Imperial mint) in an outlying area of the Empire. Barbarous coins are often very unlike official coins. The Romans got this word from the Greeks, who reckoned that anyone who spoke a language other than theirs sounded as though they were just going 'bar - bar - bar.'

Biga
A two-horse chariot, sometimes shown on coins as being pulled by other creatures such as elephants, goats or even snakes for ceremonial or symbolic purposes.

Caduceus
An ornamental rod twined with two snakes, which face each other at the tip. The rod is often shown winged. It is an attribute of Mercury (Hermes in Greek), the messenger of the gods, and symbolises trade and prosperity. It probably derives from the ribbon-draped willow wand traditionally carried by messengers. It is sometimes confused with the staff of Aesculapius (Asclepios in Greek), which also has an entwined snake, but which has a quite separate medical symbolism.

Caesar
The family name of the man who did not quite become an emperor of Rome, and also, later, the title used for a junior emperor, working as an obedient (in theory) partner of the reigning Augustus.

Celator
Engraver of coin dies. There's no guarantee that this is the word the Romans used, but it's certainly used by coin collectors today.

Christogram
A monogram made up of the Greek letters Chi and Rho, which look to us like X and P. These letters make up the start of the name of Christ in Greek.

Denarius
A silver Roman coin, produced during the Republic and the first three centuries of the Empire. Sixteen times the value of an as, four times the value of a sestertius. The plural is 'denarii'.

Dupondius
A Roman coin, usually made of brass or copper. Twice the value of an as. On dupondii, the head of the emperor was usually radiate. The plural is 'dupondii.'

Exergue
A space at the bottom of the reverse of a coin. Often, a line is drawn to separate this space from the rest of the coin. Mint marks can be found here.

Flan
The blank from which a coin is struck. Flans were made and prepared in different ways in different places and times. Commonly they would be a weighed and perhaps smoothed disk of metal, which would be heated just before the coin was struck.

Fourée or fourrée
An ancient counterfeit or unofficial coin with a base metal core and a precious metal surface. They are often very patchy, and sometimes only a bronze core remains to be seen.

Gorgoneion
Head, or face, or mask of a gorgon, particularly of the gorgon Medusa. Used on coins and amulets and the Aegis.

Laureate
Wearing a laurel wreath.

Lituus
A curved wand used by an augur. The augur would use the lituus to mark out the divisions of the sky in which he would make his observations. Sometimes shown on Roman coins together with other implements of the priestly colleges such as a jug, a knife, a sprinkler, and a simpulum. The plural is 'litui.'

Mint Mark
A sequence of letters or symbols that show which mint, and sometimes also which workshop, produced a coin. Often to be found in the exergue.

Monogram
Two or more letters combined into a single design. An obvious example on Roman coins is the christogram found on late Roman bronzes. Many Greek and Roman republican coins also used monograms.

Obverse
The front, or 'heads' side, of a coin. On Roman Imperial coins, usually shows the head of the Emperor or a relative. On Roman Republican coins, can show a variety of themes. On Greek coins, it's sometimes not even clear which side of the coin we are referring to.

Officina
A workshop within a mint. Most mints had several workshops and it seems that it was sometimes useful to be clear about who had produced which coins. Therefore, mint marks often included this information.

Orichalc or Orichalcum
A brass alloy which was used to make such Roman coins as sestertii and dupondii. An earlier Greek meaning is 'mountain copper.'

Patera
A shallow dish from which a sacrifice or libation could be poured, often onto an altar. Many Roman coin reverse types show figures holding a patera, which symbolised piety and religious intent. Sometimes creatures with religious connections, such as snakes and peacocks, are fed from them.

Punic
Carthaginian. The word derives from the Greek for Phoenician. Carthage was originally a Phoenician colony.

Quadrans
A copper coin worth a quarter of an as. This was really small change. The plural is 'quadrantes.'

Quadriga
A four-horse chariot, sometimes shown on coins as being pulled by other creatures for ceremonial purposes. Ben Hur raced a fast quadriga in the film.

Quinarius
A half-Denarius coin. The plural is 'quinarii.'

Radiate
Wearing a crown of spiky rays, representing the rays of the sun.

Reverse
The back, or 'tails' side, of a coin. On Roman Imperial coins, usually shows propaganda of some kind. On Roman Republican coins, usually shows a theme which glorifies an ancestor of the moneyer. On Greek coins, it's sometimes not even clear which side of the coin we are referring to.

Sestertius
A large Roman brass coin. Four times the value of an as. The plural is 'sestertii'.

Simpulum
A small ladle used in religious ceremonies. Sometimes shown on Roman coins together with other implements of the priestly colleges such as a jug, a knife, a sprinkler, and an augur's lituus. The plural is 'simpuli'.