Coins as Sources

Question 1

Artemision hoard: when? what? Signif?

Answer 1

650-20 BC.
93 electrum coins in total: unmarked ingots, unmarked/punched, striations/punch, or image/punch.
Earliest find of greek coins so sets chronology and has range of early electrum typology.

Question 2

Colophon Hoard: when? what? Signif?

Answer 2

c500 BCE
v large - c.80 ingots and 906 small change coins largely 1/24th and 148th staters on lydo-persic standard
Demonstrates transitionary stage of ingots to coins providing a time frame as well as an indication that they could be used alongside each other

Question 3

Elmah Hoard: when? what? Signif?

Answer 3

c460 BCE
1,700 coins, around 190 of which are Athenian EC coins.
What with being in SE Asia minor, demonstrates international coin circulation in Greek world.

Question 4

Asyut Hoard: when? what? Signif?

Answer 4

c475 (debated)
nearly 900 coins from Athens, Corinth, Samos, Macedon, Persia, and Sicily.
What with being in Egypt, provides evidence for the internationalism of coin circulation in the Greek world.

Question 5

Thorikos Hoard: when? what? Signif?

Answer 5

early 3rd century BCE
Athenian - type 5 tetradrachms - and non-Ath coins.
Die sharing of state and individual minted coins suggesting the phenom of ‘free-minting’ ( individual would approach a mint with their own silver and pay a fee for them to be minted) occurring at Thorikos

Question 6

Demanhur Hoard: when? what? Signif?

Answer 6

318/7 BCE
c. 8,000 silver coins – 45% Eastern Med mints / 39% Amphipolis / 16% Babylon.
Evidence for international circulation at the start of Hellenistic world, indicative of G world being interconnected. ALSO die studies suggests these mints were bigger than they ever had been

Question 7

Morgantina Hoard: when? what? Signif?

Answer 7

c.211 BCE
Across sealed deposits and jar: gold asses, quinarii, sestertii, and victoriati.
Evidence of early coins in denarius system and supports chronology of the new system’s introduction.

Question 8

What are the two types of roman coin hoards?

Answer 8

circulation hoard - coins that have been accidentally deposited (e.g. dropped)
savings hoard - coins that have been securely deposited with the intention of storing the value

Question 9

What are the three uses of hoards as evidence? Disadvantages of them as evidence?

Answer 9

Chronology, snap-shot of monetary system, duration of circulation (in turn can indicate monetization/demonetization)
Largely contain high value coins thus limited view into systems, depends on the deposit not being recovered, and dependence on last coin to date hoard when picture could be more nuanced

Question 10

Advantages of casual losses/site finds as evidence? Problems?

Answer 10

Balances out domination of large denoms in hoard evidence as more likely to be small change; reflects supply of coinage more contemporaneously.
Highly dependent on variables of recovery (antiquity and modern factors); largely localised information.

Question 11

What kind of arch site is good for finding coins and info about them?

Answer 11

disaster sites

Question 12

What did site finds in Britain reveal about link between coins and romanization?

Answer 12

of the coins found at sites (having been lost) there was greater denominational variation in the south than up north (ie. variety in m roman influenced areas)

Question 13

What is Hopkins’ model of R economy?

Answer 13

Homogeneity and integration of the regions across the R empire in money supply.

Question 14

What is Duncan-Jones’ model of R economy (in response to Hopkins)?

Answer 14

Economy was not integrated but rather consisted of ‘cellular’ economies.

Question 15

What is the likely reality for a model of the R economy?

Answer 15

interregional interaction but never achieved full homogeneity
sits between the two models proposed by H and D-J.

Question 16

What does Howgego point out as a major omission from the two models of R economy?

Answer 16

lack of appreciation for army movements and its impact on coin movement

Question 17

What idea does Howgego suggest in critique both models of R economy?

Answer 17

significant movement of coin whilst local differences were retained

Question 18

From what historical contexts do hoards often derive? Why?

Answer 18

insecurity, especially war
Hoard finds depend on owners not collecting them, this happens more often in disturbed times

Question 19

Advantages of hoards as evidence? Problems?

Answer 19

Key source of coins; can help build wider picture of hist context esp to do w war; provide insight for medium/long distance trade networks.
Distortion is likely due to insecurity of circumstances and favouring of large denominations

Question 20

Why are overstrikes valuable features for coins?

Answer 20

old types can be seen underneath new ones and so add to understanding of links between specific places, networks, and poss regulations around coin use

Question 21

What is a key blindspot resulting from states’ treatments of invalid coins?

Answer 21

coins that could not be used in a state were more often than not melted down and restruck thus leaving no trace and so no evidence as to the restrictions of this coin use

Question 22

What other form of money, apart from coin, was used in trade? Examples?

Answer 22

Bullion.
415 BCE - Athens transported 60 talents of uncoined silver from Egesta
300 CE - 50 pounds of uncoined silver transported to roman legion in Egypt.

Question 23

What became a more common form of money transfer over long distances in the Roman p? Signif of this?

Answer 23

credit
in form of: state tax revenues, private elite contracts, maritime loans
undetectable in numismatic evidence

Question 24

What is the detail that should be drawn on for accuracy in the hoard etc evidence?

Answer 24

PROPORTIONS of diff coins (rather than numbers)
then contextualised e.g. comparing with hoards from same region to detect patterns, anomolies

Question 25

What are the diff categories of movement of coin? Problems w this?

Answer 25

state payment - betw states, military wages/fees
private exchange
trading
payments TO a state
These overlap and intersect (‘shade’) each other in practice

Question 26

Why is the relationship betw trade and coin circ complex?

Answer 26

-some forms of trade avoided coin entirely: barter
- some forms had no actual movement of money: selling cargo abroad and exchanging money for new cargo there and taking it back
-carrier of coin not necessarily from the state who minted it
-type of coin not necessarily reflective of source of silver (most states did not have their own mines)
-pottery and coin finds do not line up as a result of many complications icl systems of standard in antiquity

Question 27

What is a key factor in the circulation of small change?

Answer 27

mobility of individuals

Question 28

Reasons coin would have been carried by traders?

Answer 28

-coin itself is widely recognised and thus valid in G world/valuable in itself e.g. owls
-profitable goods cannot be obtained in exchange for export so coin is gained/imbalance in value of goods exchnaged
-travel expenses, harbour dues, and customs duties were common and needed to be paid in coin

Question 29

Evidence of coin moving in trade?

Answer 29

Athenian law 375/4 BCE outlining role of official in the Periaeus checking coin for ship owners and merchants.
Ptolemaic papyrus of 258 BCE attests to Alexandrian mint restriking coin carried there by foreign merchants .

Question 30

What was a common phenomenon in both G and R worlds that required coinage to be carried by merchants? Examples?

Answer 30

customs duties
Rhodes charged customs duties and made great profit during Hellenistic period of trade prosperity (lost in 137 when Delos was made a free port).
High rate imposed by Ptolemies at 50% for some merchandise.
Roman eastern frontier rate was at 25%.

Question 31

From where do a signif proportion of silver coins found in archaic Persian territory derive from? How does Howgego explain this?

Answer 31

Thraco-Macedonian region
This region had a reliable source of silver and so it was sourced from there by Persians; unknown as to exactly why the silver had to be coined first, poss related to quality, source, and/or weight assurance

Question 32

What are key mechanisms by which silver coins moved around the Persian territory?

Answer 32

trade
tribute
plunder

Question 33

What could have been exported from Persia in order to ascertain silver coins? Who did the trading?

Answer 33

Egyptian corn, papyrus, linen (uncertain)
Natives, Ageinetans, East Greeks (again, uncertain)

Question 34

What was a key factor in the shift of Ath owls from close circulation to international use? Evidence for dominance in international circ?

Answer 34

Athens started exploitation of silver mins at Laurium c500 BCE.
Owls make up 19% of Asyut hoard total

Question 35

Other than minting cities, what other states saw their coinage travel?

Answer 35

states with active trading e.g. Corinth and Aegina

Question 36

Where in G world did Corinthian pegasi become significantly popular 350-300 BCE? Explanation?

Answer 36

Sicily - the coins making up 70% of the finds in Sicilian hoards of this period
Aligns with Timoleon’s campaign to Sicily in 344 BCE; coin circ promoted by mercenary payments, use of coin by these soldiers in local markets, and continued use by greek settlers after the campaign

Question 37

In hell period, what did Cretan mints commonly do? Trend post c320 BCE?

Answer 37

overstrike local and foreign coins
Great majority of the coins were foreign after this point, indicating an influx of coin coming from abroad, tied with greater involvement of Crete in wider hell world - mercenaries from Crete fighting abroad bringing back foreign coin (‘repatriation of earnings’)

Question 38

What was the major change in circulation in the Hellenistic G world? Factors?

Answer 38

Increasing dominance to the point of completely overwhelming of Alexanders over owls.
Military movements and campaigns, and paying mercenaries. Particularly significant because of the scale of AtG’s campaigns.

Question 39

What are two exceptions to Ptol coinage remaining within kingdom?

Answer 39

coins being found in Corinth c308-306 BCE likely relating to a garrison being stationed there
others being found in Attica, explained by Ptol action in Chremonidean war 268-61 BCE

Question 40

What caused a great amount of coin movement in early days of Roman campaigns in G? Problem?

Answer 40

booty
indemnities forced upon enemies e.g. treaty of Apamea (188 BCE) that required Antiochus III to pay a sum equivalent to coins of highest Attic fineness
Much of this is untraceable as coin was likely melted down.

Question 41

What are possible instances of coinage ‘sucking’/avoidance of in hell Greece? Possible mechanisms involved?

Answer 41

Macedonia causing decline of silver tetradrachms c200 BCE in G in leu of indemnity owed to Rome for 2nd Maced war
Closed currency system organised by Attalids was a means of keeping silver in kingdom away from Seleukids who were needing to pay indemnity to Rome.
Lycian and Pamphylian silver coins moving to Seleukid kingdom possibly making up for indemnity payment c200-160 BCE
uncertain, should be noted much of this is conjecture

Question 42

Why was circulation of civic coinage limited?

Answer 42

low fineness and distinctive denominations made them incompatible in different contexts

Question 43

What is the general pattern of small change movement in R Empire, east in East? Exceptions?

Answer 43

very rarely seen to be part of long-distance trade
When bronze coins did move significantly, it was generally connected with specific military operations

Question 44

What does Howgego identify as information that could be derived from circulation patterns?

Answer 44

trade
movement of people
economic effects of military activity and empires
regional levels of monetization
distribution of coin by the state
models of the Roman economy

Question 45

What are key areas of R coin exports beyond the frontiers?

Answer 45

Dacia, Lower Danube - late republic (60s-40s BCE) massive export of denarii. Theorised explanations: slave trade (shifted from E Med after Pompey’s weakening of the pirates); local insecurity caused by campaigns to unite the tribes; wider consideration suggests military causes; demand from elites for the coins as ‘prestige goods’.
India - Imperial movement of coin on annual basis was massive; gold and silver exported as bullion to be exchanged for luxuries; Explanation: trade, much evidence for this in archaeology as well as literature (Pliny refers to expense of 100mil sestercii being paid to India, China, and Arabia for luxury imports).
Baltics - high density of hoards from Imperial mint; Explanation: appeal of the coins to teh elites and use in prestige-burial practices.

Question 46

What should always be considered when looking at evidence of major R coin exports in a loc beyond frontiers?

Answer 46

numbers/scale of local imitations

Question 47

Why were old coins used for export under R Empire? Example?

Answer 47

Often more intrinsic value and little use in Rome/the provinces itself.
Vast majority of silver coins in India were those dating to pre-64 CE when Nero reformed the coinage resulting in a debasement.

Question 48

What is the pattern of coin finds in non-Roman E Europe (Barbaricum)?

Answer 48

Two zones:
‘Buffer zone’ - c200km from frontier dominated by bronze coins, likely a reflection of trading relations w Romans.
Beyond - characterized by silver coins (alongside valuable prestige goods) suggesting a culturally symbolic value of the coins as prestigious and sociallly valuable.

Question 49

Why is studying coin circ within the R Empire so difficult? Example of way to counteract this?

Answer 49

Coins were homogenous and naturally moved around but the details of this are lost due to the expanse and homogenuity across the Empire. Analyse chronological patterns in certain regions.

Question 50

What caused difference in imperial coin denisty across regions? Example?

Answer 50

total output of coin reaching AND staying in the region variegating
Base metal coinage studies at Bath indicate small change did not reach Britian through organic circulation but rather depended on imperial supply to get there - base metal coinage of Domition, minted from 81-96 BCE, are exclusively from 86-7 BCE in Bath.

Question 51

How could R military presence impact the circulation of R coin? Example?

Answer 51

Coins would be artificially supplied to the fort but then make their way to local circulation eventually making them part of the region’s currency.
Vindonissa, Switz. fort had R aes coinage; it disbanded meaning the supply of coinage stopped coming; BUT this absence spread is shown in evidence from wider surrounding region also.

Question 52

What is distinct difference between base metal and precious metal coin circulation across R Empire?

Answer 52

Base metal coinage dispersal is uneven, with some types being restricted to partic areas.
Precious metal coinage was planted mroe consistently/circulated more widely (likely mix of both) and thus there is greater spread and variety in any one region

Question 53

When and Where was there a second imperial mint alongside the one at Rome? Signif?

Answer 53

Syria, from 2nd cent CE.
Patterns from hoards in West, especially Britain, indicate these coins were not supplied particularly evenly to the west but rather moved organically in transactions that meant ending up in britain/the west generally, was a secondary consideration/result of the coins being minted.

Question 54

What are the possible reasons for secondary movements of coins in R empire?

Answer 54

multiple transfers of military personnel
taxes
rents
trade