Bronze Coins Research Articles

Laser cleaning of Cu-based artefacts: laser/corrosion products interaction

<p class="Abstract">This study aims to develop a low invasive and selective laser cleaning procedure for the removal of reactive corrosion products on Cu-based artefacts without damage the substrate. In a preliminary step, laser cleaning was performed on two typologies of artificially corroded copper reference samples. The effect of the variation of laser parameters as pulse duration and output power, was thus evaluated on an oxide layer, simulating a protective patina, and a hydroxychloride layer, simulating a reactive corrosion products layer to be removed. The optimized cleaning procedure was validated on an archaeological artefact, a bronze coin. Morphological, microchemical and microstructural characterizations were performed by means of optical microscopy, confocal microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-Ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, before and after laser cleaning. The experimental findings show that laser cleaning, in optimized conditions, can reduce the thickness of the hydroxychloride layers slightly affecting the oxide layers. The difference in the interaction with laser radiation of these two layers seems to be mainly related to the difference in grain size and porosity. Notwithstanding these encouraging results, in order to define the real feasibility of the laser cleaning procedure, a further validation on real artefacts is mandatory due to the variation in thickness and composition of the corrosion products formed during long-lasting uncontrolled degradation processes.</p>

A large north african, carthage bronze coin from the numismatic collection of the franciscan monastery in Kreševo (central Bosnia

U numizmatičku zbirku Franjevačkog samostana u Kreševu u središnjoj Bosni dospjela je jedna velika bronca sjevemoafričke Kartage (Carthago Zeugitanae) iz vremena oko 200. g. prije Krista (SI. 1.). Takvi su novci već ranije pronalaženi u ostavama na japodskom području (u sjevernoj Dalmaciji, u Lici te u dolini rijeke Une u sjeverozapadnoj Bosni). S lih područja (Karta 1.) potječu još 23 primjerka ovog novca te jedan ulomak.

Non-destructive evaluation of Roman coin patinas from the 3rd and 4th century

Roman bronze coins from the 3rd and 4th century AD exhibit a wide variety of chemistries on their surfaces. This variation has been attributed to the variable methods used to produce the coins, a large number of mints producing bronze currency, and the periods of currency devaluation within the Roman Empire. Besides the base bronze metallurgy (Cu,Sn), Ag, Pb, and Zn were frequently used as coinage metals. Silver coatings were often applied to increase the apparent value of the coins. Over the centuries these surfaces corroded producing a range of patinas. Non-destructive X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence methods were used to evaluate ancient bronze coins. These methods are limited by their half depth of penetration into the coins, so the focus was on the chemistry of the patina's and how they related to the current appearance. Several 3rd-century bronze coins exhibited a very dark patina that was often composed of CuCl, Cu2O (cuprite) and several forms of copper hydroxyl chloride, resulting from surface deterioration caused by corrosion and is often referred to as bronze disease. Coins of the latter 3rd century and 4th century often exhibit patinas that are corrosion products of lead, silver, and tin, as lead and tin preferentially oxidize relative to the bronze alloys.

Reconciling the ‘step sisters’: early Byzantine numismatics, history and archaeology

Abstract Despite the growing body of excavation finds and the steady publication of museum collections, the numismatic evidence remains an underutilized historical source. Historians who study Late Antiquity rely on archaeological evidence but tend to ignore coin finds, partly because numismatics developed as an independent field with its own set of specialized tools and research questions. Insufficient dialogue between the disciplines has delayed a proper appreciation of Early Byzantine coins as historical source and the development of a clear methodology for their use in conjunction with the literary and archaeological evidence. In order to overcome such disciplinary divides, this paper proposes several research directions by highlighting the main benefits of integrating the numismatic evidence more fully into the historical narrative. These research directions include a greater emphasis on bronze coinage, the study of the long-distance circulation of people and goods, and distinctions between urban, rural, and fortified contexts. This methodological discussion is followed by a case study from Byzantium’s Lower Danube frontier.

Redating Nepotian’s Usurpation and the Coinage of Magnentius

A re-examination of the historical sources, based on an idea put forward in April 2010 by Curtis Clay, supports the possibility that the date of the brief rebellion of Nepotian at Rome should be changed from the traditionally accepted June 350 to May-June 351. Such a change appears to provide for a closer match with many historical sources, better fits the sequence of other historical events, and better explains the distribution and layout of the coinage of Magnentius. Such a change necessitates a redating of most of the phases of Magnentius’ coinage, from those outlined by Pierre Bastien in his magnus opus Le monayage de Magnence, and a revision of several other numismatic assumptions. This article lays out the justification for changing the date of Nepotian’s rebellion and provides a revised dating for Magnentius’ bronze coinage.

Rethinking early Carthaginian coinage

The coins minted by the Carthaginians in silver, gold, electrum, billon and bronze comprise one of the largest coinages that circulated in the W Mediterranean before the Roman conquest. They provide essential information on both the history and economy of Carthage and on Carthaginian interactions with their neighbors, allies and adversaries. Carthaginian bronze coins, in particular, are frequently found throughout the Punic world, in each of its core regions (N Africa from Tripolitania to Algeria, Sicily, Sardinia, Ibiza and the southernmost Iberian peninsula), as well as in Italy. Yet few accounts of Carthage and the Punic Wars take Carthaginian coinage into consideration, and an emphasis on Greek and Latin literary sources continues to drive the narrative. Of course, in evaluating the political and economic implications of numismatic evidence one needs to distinguish from the start between the issues of the Carthage mint and those of other mints that struck coins under Carthaginian authority. Carthaginian coinage did not follow a linear path of development. As the Carthaginians began to produce coins in Sicily earlier than in N Africa, the start of minting at Carthage deserves careful scrutiny. This essay, based upon an ongoing study of Carthaginian bronze and billon coins, will review the history of modern scholarship and current research on Carthaginian coinage, focussing upon the formative period of the Carthage mint between c.350 and 300 B.C. in order to define the main aspects of its output, its relevance for the monetization of the Carthaginian homeland, and the sequence of the earliest issues.

Dating Archaeological Strata in the Magna Mater Temple Using Solid‐state Voltammetric Analysis of Leaded Bronze Coins

AbstractThe application of solid state electrochemistry techniques for dating archaeological strata using lead‐containing bronze coins is described. The proposed methodology was applied to samples coming from the Roman archaeological site of Magna Mater Temple (Rome, Italy) occurring in different strata dating back between the second half and the end of the 4th century A.D. and the 20th century. The voltammetric signatures of copper and lead corrosion products in contact with aqueous acetate buffer, as well as the catalytic effects produced on the hydrogen evolution reaction, were used for establishing the age of different strata and dating coins belonging to unknown age. Voltammetric data were consistent with a theoretical approximation based on a potential rate law for the corrosion process.

The excavation of the Taiji Hall complex in Han-Wei Luoyang City

AbstractSince 2011, Archaeological Team of Han-Wei Luoyang City of the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted coring tests and excavations to the site of Taiji Hall complex in the palace city of the Northern Wei Dynasty in the Han-Wei Luoyang City Site, by which the east half of the foundation of the main hall and that of the Taiji East Hall and the aprons, paths, courtyards, gateways, side houses and draining ditches around them were recovered, and the artifacts including bricks, tiles, tile-ends, stone slabs for paving the floor and bronze coins were unearthed. The excavations confirmed that the Taiji Hall in Luoyang was first built in the Three-Kingdoms Period and the layout of the Taiji East and West Halls flanking the main hall in the middle was also formed at that time. This layout was succeeded, rebuilt and reused by the Western Jin, Northern Wei and Northern Zhou Dynasties in the later times. This palace system and capital city planning established by the Wei Kingdom of the Three-Kingdoms Period in the Han-Wei Luoyang City were followed by the later dynasties and periods and introduced to Korea and Japan.

Sol the invincible Gad of sun By publication of a collection of bronze coins from the late Roman era الإله سول إله الشمس الذى لا یقهر فى ضوء نشر مجموعة من العملات البرونزیة من العصر الرومانى المتأخر

تتعرض الدراسة لنشر مجموعة من القطع النقدية من العصر الرومانى المتأخر وتحديدا عهد الإمبراطور قسطنطينوس الکبير، محفوظة بالمتحف المصرى ، وترتبط جميعها بوحدة فى الفئة ومادة الصنع، والموضوع المصور عليها، فجميعها من فئة الفولس ومن البرونز، ومصور عليها الإله سول وهو إله الشمس الذى لا يقهر، وهو إله سورى الأصل وانتشرت عبادته بالإمبراطورية الرومانية بفضل بعض اباطراتها.

Un nuevo ocultamiento monetario de bronces romano-republicanos y de «Castulo» en el sur de Hispania: Torre de Benagalbón (Málaga)

During the excavations in the Roman villa of Torre de Benagalgon (Rincon de la Victoria, Malaga), in 2003-2004, a modest bronze coin hoard was discovered. It contained 19 Roman asses and one semis, and 9 units from Castulo / Ka. ? .ti.l.o (Cazlona, Jaen). This coin find contributes to the study of mixed bronze coin hoards –Roman and local coinage– in the south of Hispania during the second half of the second century bc. Its possible formation in the mining district of Castulo , well connected with de port of Malaca by an ancient pre-Roman road known by archaeological and literary sources, are discussed here. Finally, it is emphasized the role of Roman bronzes in relation to the local coinages, especially from 146/141 bc, and also the changes in the metrological criteria during the 1st century bc.

The Riddle of the Nablus Collection

The Nablus Collection is a previously-unpublished hoard of imperial Roman bronze coins from the Tetrarchic Period (294-318) housed at the Catholic University of America. The Collection is comparable to many other, similar hoards and confirms common trends such as weight, time span, and inflation during the period. One programmatic weight reduction, in the year 307/308, is well documented in the Collection, and the hoard further substantiates a lesser-known weight reduction in the year 312 for which no material evidence had as yet been discovered. The Collection, however, differs from other hoards in several remarkable ways, raising questions that require creative hypotheses. The mint distribution supported by comparable hoards of the period contrasts strikingly with that of the Collection, which evidences a balance of eastern and western mints peculiar for the period. The hoard testifies to the economic rise of a frontier colony which by the 320s had become an established community with its own bishop and the importance to attract a flow of foreign coin from across the Empire. The Collection adds a small piece to the story of that turbulent period when Constantine marched from York, crossed the Empire, and finally settled in the East.

Lake Surface Full of Clouds, and: Quiet, and: Two Robins in Summer

Lake Surface Full of Clouds, and: Quiet, and: Two Robins in Summer Joseph Duemer Note from the Editors: It is with sadness that we report the passing away of Joseph Duemer, at the age of 66, on June 27, 2017. Joe served as Poetry Editor of The Wallace Stevens Journal for twenty years, from 1990 to 2010. He was Professor Emeritus of Humanities at Clarkson University, where he had taught courses in creative writing, literature, popular music, and Buddhism. He published numerous books of poetry, including The Light of Common Day, Customs, Static, and Magical Thinking, and coedited Dog Music: Poetry about Dogs. His poems and criticism appeared in more than seventy-five literary journals. His latest volume of poetry, which he was preparing for publication under the title River with Birds, contains several poems that testify to Stevens’s inspiration on him. We have decided to start our usual selection of poems by reproducing three of these works in celebration of Joe’s poetic career and his longtime service to the Journal. We express our sincere condolences to Joe’s wife, Carole Mathey, and thank her for granting permission to publish the following poems. Lake Surface Full of Clouds In this July evening in the mountains the lake lies within its stone perimeter & light presses against its surface. Wind shapes it & clouds print their exact images on the water, moving. The scent of jack pine fills the air, & the cry of a phoebe, two long notes repeated: thing & song [End Page 278] in their wild fullness full. The world is plainspoken; full of evening light, it is there before me. I lack the perfect mind of an animal, such that I can see myself seeing this. I know myself. I have the stupid human trick of language & a bright penny in my pocket. The tyrant kingbird swerves kit-kit-kit out over the lake’s edge & glances down so that one imagines the lake bottom as conceived from flight. The geography of the lakebed flickers with bronze coins consisting of light & the teal transparency of old glass, the blue iridescence of a trout’s fin in the sunlit shallows swept by shadows. But there is no book of the world—not the night sky’s constellations nor another’s body that we touch with our open hands—neither book nor mirror. We must content ourselves in ourselves in our desolation with the print of a mink’s forepaws on brown sand— left there when [End Page 279] he bent to lick a few streaks of light from the tensed lake. Note: Previously published in American Literary Review; “Lake Surface Full of Clouds” was the winner of the journal’s annual award for best poem in 2012. Quiet “One grows used to the weather.” —Stevens, “The American Sublime” I have always lived here without knowing anything much about anything much, except this slanting light & mild weather, mostly sunny & lulling me to sleep I now see that the light on the bright island is not as I had thought, not without precedent. It has alwaysbeen an exile’slight, trembling. Quiet. Quiet. My phonemes obey the island’s laws of limited motion— short & clear & as careful as needles scoring birdsong on precise devices. Or they will buzz slightly & blur [End Page 280] into the damaged music of language. I have listened but for too long without attention. It has alwaysbeen an exile’slight, trembling. Quiet. Quiet. Light shifts, singing only empty space. A flicker of ultraviolet shivers in the night sky. It is as dry as these dry stalks & shadows of dry stalks askew in soil long given over to waiting—some fleck of water glinting on the faucet’s lip. That will be enough, or almost enough. Light shifts . . . It has alwaysbeen an exile’s light, tense & trembling. Quiet. Quiet. . . . a sharp breeze shifts direction, adjusting leaves & stirring unbroken branches. Waking, the weather veers predictably enough toward beauty (which must be acknowledged) & loneliness (now devoid of the sublime) but I drift in & out of [End Page 281] shadows cast by stately cumulus. Here I am. It has alwaysbeen an exile’slight, trembling. Quiet. Quiet...

Archaeometric analysis of Roman bronze coins from the Magna Mater temple using solid-state voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Voltammetry of microparticles (VMP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques, complemented by SEM-EDX and Raman spectroscopy, were applied to a set of 15 Roman bronze coins and one Tessera from the temple of Magna Mater (Rome, Italy). The archaeological site, dated back between the second half and the end of the 4th century A.D., presented a complicated stratigraphic context. Characteristic voltammetric patterns for cuprite and tenorite for sub-microsamples of the corrosion layers of the coins deposited onto graphite electrodes in contact with 0.10 M HClO4 aqueous solution yielded a grouping of the coins into three main groups. This grouping was confirmed and refined using EIS experiments of the coins immersed in air-saturated mineral water using the reduction of dissolved oxygen as a redox probe. The electrochemical grouping of coins corroborated the complex stratigraphy of the archaeological site and, above all, the reuse of the coins during the later periods due to the economic issues related to the fall of the Roman Empire.

Detection by sputtering of deformed areas hidden under a surface

A sensitive method of visualization by sputtering of deformed areas buried under a surface is developed. The effect of varying the lattice constant and binding-energy of surface atoms of binary disordered alloys on the sputtering of areas deformed by a concentrated load was examined using molecular dynamics. The calculation was carried out for Cu87Sn13, Ni97Fe3 and Fe97Ni3 alloys, which are used for manufacturing of coins and items with marking signs. Experimentally and by MD simulations of energy and angular distributions of sputtered particles, we have shown that the best conditions for detection of deformed areas, buried under a surface, occur in the case of irradiation by inert gas ions of sufficiently large mass (Ar+, Kr+) with energy of 7–10 keV, when the sputtering yield is close to its maximum value. We suggest using an inclined ion beam, near the maximum of the angular dependence of the sputtering coefficient. This leads to reduction of the time necessary for ion irradiation, and to an increase in clarity of the obtained image due to a cumulative effect in the narrow near-surface layers of the target. Using the recommended parameters of sputtering has allowed us to reveal a destroyed image on a bronze coin and images of completely ground off marking numbers on steel objects.

Status and Prospects for Quasi-Non-Destructive Analysis of Ancient Artefacts via LA–ICP–MS

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) combines a low degree of invasiveness (termed quasi-non-destructive) with measurements of concentrations of elements and/or their isotopic compositions in artefacts. The technique has risen to prominence in archaeometric research. Successful applications include the use of trace elements to document the trade of raw glass from Egypt and Mesopotamia to Mycenaean Greece during the Late Bronze Age and the use of Pb isotope ratios to show that a common source of metal was used to mint bronze coins in an ancient Roman city on the Iberian Peninsula during the reigns of Emperors Augustus to Claudius. Prospects for using LA–ICP–MS for elemental mapping (imaging) and for extending the application of isotopic tracing for archaeometry are evaluated.

Analysis of antique bronze coins by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy and multivariate analysis

This work presents a feasibility study of applying the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to data obtained by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) with the aim of determining correlation between different samples. The samples were antique bronze coins coated in silver (follis) dated in the Roman Empire period and were made during different rulers in different mints. While raw LIBS data revealed that in the period from the year 286 to 383CE content of silver was constantly decreasing, the PCA showed that the samples can be somewhat grouped together based on their place of origin, which could be a useful hint when analysing unknown samples. It was also found that PCA can help in discriminating spectra corresponding to ablation from the surface and from the bulk. Furthermore, Partial Least Squares method (PLS) was used to obtain, based on a set of samples with known composition, an estimation of relative copper concentration in studied ancient coins. This analysis showed that copper concentration in surface layers ranged from 83% to 90%.

Byzantine Anonymous Folles in the Bolu Museum

This article concerns the Byzantine anony­mous folles today in the Bolu Museum and of the dist­ribution in Anatolia of those anonymous folles which date from the Middle Byzantine period. 394 Byzantine coins are in the Bolu museum collection. Of these co­ins, 11 are gold, 2 are silver, imitations of the solidus of emperor Anastasius 491–518 and of Constantinus VII 913–959 . 381 of the coins are bronze, one of which is a counterfeit. 184 of the bronze coins are ano­nymous folles and there is a catalogue of them. As is evi­dent, about 50% of all these coins in the museum collection are anonymous folles. The imperial bronze anonymous folles struck, differ from others in previous centuries in two main respects. Firstly there is a portrait of Christ on them, which had been preferred and emp­loyed earlier on gold coins. The other is that these coins were not struck on behalf of any emperors. In conclusion, the Byzantine anonymous folles in the Bolu Museum are compared with the folles in other mu­seums and those finds from excavations in Anatolia.

Ancient bronze coins from Mediterranean basin: LAMQS potentiality for lead isotopes comparative analysis with former mineral

Bronze coins coming from the area of the Mediterranean basin, dated back the II–X Cent. A.D., were analyzed using different physical analytical techniques. Characteristic X-ray fluorescence was used with electrons and photons, in order to investigate the elemental composition of both the surface layers and bulk. Moreover, the quadrupole mass spectrometry coupled to laser ablation (LAMQS technique) in high vacuum was used to analyse typical material compounds from surface contamination. Mass spectrometry, at high resolution and sensitivity, extended up to 300amu, allowed measuring the 208Pb/206Pb and 207Pb/206Pb isotopic ratios into the coins. Quantitative relative analyses of these isotopic ratios identify the coin composition such as a “fingerprint” depending on the mineral used to extract the lead. Isotopic ratios in coins can be compared to those of the possible minerals used to produce the bronze alloy. A comparison between the measured isotope ratios in the analyzed coins and the literature database, related to the mineral containing Pb as a function of its geological and geophysical extraction mine, is presented. The analysis, restricted to old coins and the mines of the Mediterranean basin, indicates a possible correlation between the coin compositions and the possible geological sites of the extracted mineral.

Reconsidering the Interpretation and Dating of Ancient Coins: the case of Bronze Coins from Dodona in the Name of Menedemos Argeades

In the sanctuary of Dodona a series of bronze coins were minted in the name of ΜEΝEΔΗΜΟΣ ΑΡΓEΑΔΗΣ ΙEΡEΥΣ (PRIEST MENEDEMOS ARGEADES). The iconography of this substantial coinage follows the traditional types struck by the Epirote mints, such as Dodonaios Zeus and his eagle, Artemis and her attributes (arrow and quiver). Franke, the first scholar who studied them, from historical events proposed a date in the period 168-148 B.C. In this paper a new chronological date for these coins is proposed, from style, epigraphic and the metrological observations, combined with the ancient sources. Specifically, the style of these issues echoes the types of silver denarii minted during the late republican period. The bust of Dodonaios Zeus bears a resemblance to the relevant type of Roman denarii of Lucius Staius Murcus (42-41 B.C.) and the hairstyle of Artemis to Dianaʼs as the latter is depicted on the silver coins of Gaius Hosidius Geta (68 B.C.), and mainly of Caesar’s followers, Gaius Antius Restio (47 B.C.) and Titus Carisius (46 B.C). In the Augustan era, this hairstyle for Diana is abandoned. For research, a puzzling issue concerns the denominational system of the heavy bronze coins, which were applied to the Greek mints, as the type C of the series of Dodona. Burnett observed the distribution of this practice during the Second Civil War, which he attributed to the Roman officers of Marcus Junius Brutus, Marcus Antonius and Gaius Octavius. Nevertheless, Kremydi-Sicilianou concluded, by examining the monetary production of Dion, that Julius Caesar was the mastermind behind the foundation of the Roman colony (Colonia Felix Diensis), although it was established after his assassination. Another colony founded by Julius Caesar, was Colonia Iulia Felix Sinope, where this new monetary system was also applied. The omission of the ethnikon on Dodona’s bronze coins is unique in Greek numismatics. Franke first linked the name Argeades to the royal dynasty of Macedonia. The extent of the inscription is reminiscent of those on the coins of the Macedonian kings from the time of Alexander the Great and his successors. The mysterious identity of Menedemos Argeades seems to unfold through lines in Caesar’s Civil War and Ciceroʼs in correspondence. In a passage in the Civil Wars, Caesar made a reference to Menedemos, princeps of Macedonia libera, as an ally of his. However, Cicero provided crucial data related to Menedemos and Petraeosʼ activity in political strife. According to his narration, both became intimate followers of Caesar and both were granted the privilege of Roman citizenship. During Caesar’s autocracy, the Thessalian league minted silver and bronze coins in the name of (strategos) Petraeos, while Menedemos contributed financially to the sanctuary of Dodona for the emission of these bronze issues. He proudly presented himself as priest of Dodonaios Zeus and descent of the royal branch of Argeades reflecting the morale of his era. His political activity did not continue for long. A year after the brutal assassination of Caesar, he was executed together with Petraeos by Marcus Junius Brutus

Monetization of Roman Egypt during the Flavian Dynasty (AD 69–96): the case of Alexandria and Berenike

A study of coin output in Egypt during the Flavian dynasty (AD 69–96) brings to light a dichotomy in circulation between billon tetradrachms and low denomination bronze coins. The composition of hoards with Flavian silver issues suggests minimal coin production due to a sufficient quantity of Nero’s tertadrachms on the market. However, stray finds of coins from the Flavian dynasty consist mainly of bronze issues, apparently outnumbering Nero’s low-denomination coin output. A tempting idea to consider is that the low number of Flavian silver coins in circulation resulted in an extended production of bronze issues.