As a result, they can have greek legends and be of non-Roman denominations. They are generally continuations of the local currency that existed before the Romans took control. Roman Provincial coins are those minted by local civic authorities, rather than the imperial authorities. The coins from the end of the Roman Empire tend to be in good condition and the bronze ones are cheap, so this is a good place for collectors on a budget. “RIC 10” uses 491 AD as the end date as that’s when Anastasius came to power. It is generally considered to end with the fall of Rome in 476 AD, or with the monetary reform of Anastasius in 498 AD. 27 BC when Octavian took on the title Augustus.Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, or.The Roman Imperial age is the age of the Emperors, and begins when either: Julius Caesar was first to do so, an act that possibly contributed to his death, but the seal had been broken and even his assassin, Brutus, soon put his portrait on a coin he minted. It is during this era that moneyers started putting their own portraits on coins. Likewise, the end date is slightly flexible with both 31 BC and 27 BC being used (see below). The only practical effect of this for the collector is that coins between 82BC and 49 BC may appear in either the Roman Republic or the Roman Imperatorial sections of shops and auctions. 49 BC: The outbreak of civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey.59 BC: The formation of the First Triumvirate.The accepted start date of the Roman Imperatorial era varies, with the following contenders being used: If you are interested in coins of Julius Caesar, Brutus, Mark Antony, Cleopatra and Octavian, then this is the period for you. The Roman Imperatorial period was the transition period between the Republic and the Empire, and is the period where powerful generals vied for control of Rome. That taboo wasn’t broken until the Roman Imperatorial era. One notable feature of Republican coinage is that it didn’t feature portraits of living people (some provincial coins may have done this, but not those minted in Rome). During the 1 st century BC, generals on campaign started minting their own coins to pay their troops. The Roman Republic is older than this, but they didn’t use coins (well, not round ones anyway).Ĭoins in this period were minted by junior magistrates, and it is their names that appear on the coins. Roman coins are generally broken down into four main areas: Roman Republicanįor the purposes of coin collecting, the Roman Republican era runs from around 290 BC to around 82 BC, although some would say it ran until 49BC (see below). Wars, inflation, and general poor management took their toll on the Romans and their coins. It covers a period of around 780 years, and as you’ll see later, they weren’t all smooth running years. It might look a bit complicated at first, but this really is the simplified version. It finishes up with some thoughts on where to look next based on the type of collecting you like to do, and with some recommended reading. It covers all the major coin types in use, giving weights, sizes and relative values where they are known. This page will take you through the basics of Roman coinage from the start of the Republican period to the end of the Roman Empire. There are a large number of books and online resources to help the collector. Roman coins are the easiest type of ancient coins to collect because Roman history is relatively well documented and the Roman alphabet is recognisable to English speakers.
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