An approach to the metallic composition of the Carthage mint coins from the tetrarchic hoard of Tomares (CA. 312 CE (original) (raw)
Related papers
Molecules
In this study, 160 silver-copper alloy denarii and antoniniani from the 3rd century A.D. were studied to obtain their overall chemical composition. The approach used for their characterisation is based on a combination of physical, chemical, and chemometric techniques. The aim is to identify and quantify major and trace elements in Roman silver-copper coins in order to assess changes in composition and to confirm the devaluation of the currency. After a first cataloguing step, μ-EDXRF and SEM-EDX techniques were performed to identify the elements on the coins’ surface. A micro-destructive sampling method was employed on a representative sample of the coins to quantify the elements present in the bulk. The powder obtained from drilling 12 coins (keeping the two categories of coins separate) was dissolved in an acidic medium; heated and sonicated to facilitate dissolution; and then analysed by ICP-AES and ICP-MS. The two currencies had different average alloy percentages; in particula...
Mints not Mines: a macroscale investigation of Roman silver coinage
Internet Archaeology, 2023
Although silver coins have been investigated through the lens of geological provenance to locate argentiferous ore deposits exploited in their production, we consider that this avenue of research may be a cul-de-sac, especially for studies that rely heavily on deciphering lead and silver isotope signatures that may have been altered by the addition of lead and copper (and their associated impurities) during silver refining and debasement, and by ancient recycling of coinage. Instead, we focus our attention on mints, by analysing the compositions of over 1000 silver coins from the early 1st century BC to AD 100. We propose that lead from the west Mediterranean was used exclusively to refine silver at mints in the West, and that an unknown lead supply (possibly from Macedonia), used in the East by the Late Seleucid ruler Philip I Philadelphus and later Mark Antony, was mixed with western lead. Extensive mixing of lead and/or silver coins is particularly evident under Nero and Vespasian, aligning with historically attested periods of recycling following currency reform. We further propose that coins minted in the kingdom of Mauretania used different lead and silver sources from the majority of coins minted in the western Mediterranean, and that silver coins minted at Tyre are derived from silver refined in the west Mediterranean. Coinage minted at Alexandria is consistent with debasement of recycled Roman denarii, thereby suggesting that denarii were deliberately removed from circulation to mint tetradrachms during the early Imperial Roman period.
Analysis of the metal of the coins of Ebusus and Northeastern Spain (3rd – 1st c. B.C.E.)
XV International Numismatic Congress Taormina 2015 Proceedings , 2017
During the late 1980s, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy played an important role in developing our understanding of the composition of ancient bronze coins in the Iberian Peninsula , but the studies involved addressed only individual mints and issues and did not aim at developing a wider picture. Between 1995 and 1999, Abascal and Ripollès, building on previous work, undertook a series of metallographic analyses, also using XRF spectroscopy, published in four papers . Their goal was to produce an initial databank of information on the composition of coinages minted in the Iberian Peninsula during the Republican period and the early Empire, and map this. This remains the only systematic treatment of this material so far completed, though some further analyses were undertaken by other scholars . The aim of this paper is to add yet more data to the existing databank of metallographic analysis of Iberian coinages, and present the results of an analysis and comparison of the composition of the bronze coins of the Punic mint of Ebusus and the Iberian mints of NE Spain, during the 3rd-1st c. B.C.E.: 339 coins were analyzed using XRF spectroscopy. In the case of Ebusus, the sample was large enough to make possible a diachronic study of the metal composition during the life of this mint.
Journal of Archaeology, 2014
This work enters in an interdisciplinary research project involving the archaeometrical analysis of ancient silver coins minted in the Greek colony of Taras (the modern south Italian town of Taranto) between the V century BC and the III century BC. In this work, by comparing the results obtained from X-ray microanalysis data acquired from the least corroded surface areas and the cross-section of coins from SEM-EDX and from XRF analysis, we have demonstrated that analysed coins exhibited a corrosion layer no more than 25 μm and that surface silver enrichment was less than 1 wt%. Thus, the data obtained by using X-ray microanalysis from surface may not significantly differ from the original bulk composition. Our results demonstrate that the silver content in the coins decreases considerably ranging from about 97% for the older down to 80% for the ones of 3rd Evans period (300–270 BC), corresponding to the significant social change in the period.
Journal of Archaeological Science
This article demonstrates that distinct and coherent silver sources can be discriminated from surface composi-tional analyses. In the first large-scale study of Archaic (pre-479 BC) Athenian silver coins in museum collections around the world, we analysed 788 coins by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry with a mathematical correction to provide a reliable composition for key diagnostic elements. Principal Component Analysis reveals compositional patterns including at least one copper-lead-gold (Cu, Pb, Au) triplet with strong clustering of data. The pattern for bismuth (Bi) was similar to, but not as clear as Pb. Considering elemental compositions in combination with a die study and isotopic analyses in the literature, we reveal when Lavrion was the metal source from which Wappenmünzen and Owl coinage types were struck, providing important new understanding about Athenian history in the pivotal period of transition from tyranny to democracy in the late sixth century BC. Beyond this specific example, we contend that XRF spectrometry could have wider application in studies of ancient silver, not least for a simplified triage protocol to help determine which silver artefacts should be subjected to slower, more costly and invasive trace elemental and isotopic analyses.
Molecules
This study stems from the need for numismatics to establish whether there may be relationships between a group of 103 bronze coins from the Roman era found in archaeological excavations on the Cesén Mountain (Treviso, Italy) and a group of 117 coins kept at the Museum of Natural History and Archaeology in Montebelluna (Treviso, Italy). The chemists were delivered six coins with neither pre-agreements nor further information on the origin of the coins. Therefore, the request was to hypothetically assign the coins to the two groups on the basis of similarities and differences in their surface composition. Only non-destructive analytical techniques were allowed to be used to characterize the surface of the six coins taken blindly from the two sets. The elemental analysis of each coins’ surface was carried out by µ-XRF. To better observe the morphology of the coins’ surfaces, SEM-EDS was used. Compounds covering the coins coming from both corrosion processes (patinas) and the deposition...
Classical Cyprus. Proceedings of the International Conference at the University of Graz, Austria, 21–23 September 2017, Κυπριακά vol. 5, Wien, 335-351, 2020
Following the successful analytical study and publication of gold coins issued by the Iron Age Cypriot city kingdoms, a new research project was launched in 2015 at the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus. The project entitled “Interdisciplinary Study of Silver Coins of the Cypriot Iron Age City Kingdoms (6th – 4th Centuries BC)”, funded by the above mentioned organisation was undertaken by Dr. Andreas Charalambous in collaboration with the numismatist Dr. Evangeline Markou and coordinated by Professor Vasiliki Kassianidou. The new project focuses on the silver issues of the Iron Age kingdoms and more specifically on silver coins that were found in well-dated hoards. This paper reports on the elemental composition of 113 silver coins from the Vouni Hoard (IGCH 1278, burial date 390–380 BC), minted by the cities of Marion, Kition, Lapithos, Paphos and Amathous. The chemical composition of the coins was determined by pXRF spectrometry. The results of the compositional analysis show that the different types and issues of coins were made of a similar Ag-Cu alloy with silver concentration, for the majority of the coins, in the range 97-98.5%. Overall, the coins for the most part display similarities although on occasion clear differences do exist in the concentrations of minor and trace elements. These differences seem to correspond to different city mints or coin issues and denominations. Additionally, the results of the analysis are compared to those of a series of silver coins from the Larnaca Hoard (IGCH 1272), which dates to the 5th century BC and it also includes coins from Kition, Lapithos and Paphos. The comparative analysis aims at examining if there is a continuation in the minting technology of these three cities. The project is expected to provide valuable new insights and knowledge regarding the manufacture technology of the ancient Cypriot coinage, the monetary history of the city-kingdoms and the political conditions of the specific period of time that the hoard was buried.
WHY WE ANALYZE THE ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION AND WEIGHT OF ANCIENT SILVER COINS
Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia, 2022
[Rewiev] Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting, with contributions by Jane Evans, Vanessa Pashley and Christopher Somerfield, The Metallurgy of Roman Silver Coinage: From the Reform of Nero to the Reform of Trajan, First paperback edition, Cambridge University Press, 2020, pp. XXXII + 797.
American Journal of Numismatics Second Series, 2020
The elemental composition of 436 silver coins from a hoard of the 5th century BC, minted by the Iron Age Cypriot city-kingdoms of Kition, Idalion, Lapethos, Paphos and Salamis, as well as a small number of coins from unidentified mints, was determined by pXRF spectrometry in order primarily to study the silver alloys used for their manufacture. The specific technique was applied because it allows for a non-destructive analysis, taking into consideration its inherent limitations as a surface analysis technique and the possibility of the existence of surface enrichment elements that do not reflect the materials’ actual bulk composition. This is the first time such a large number of ancient Cypriot silver coins has been analyzed providing numismatists and archaeologists with new insights into this important component of ancient material culture. The results of the compositional analysis show that the various groups of coins were made of a similar Ag-Cu alloy with silver concentration in the range of 96.5-98.5%. The proportion of copper, larger than the approximately 0.5% that would be expected from ordinary ancient methods of refining silver, is likely justified as an attempt to increase the hardness of the alloy and to improve its casting and minting processing, rather than as an attempt of debasement or a form of adulteration. Furthermore, the analysis has shown that most of the analyzed coins have a lead concentration below 0.5%, indicating a very efficient silver refining process. Gold is in most instances present in a concentration range between 0.1 and 0.5%. The presence of detectable bismuth in most of the coins, at lower concentrations than gold, provides information about the type of ores that were used for the production of silver metal. The interpretation of the chemical elements content reveals similarities and differences between the mints of the Cypriot city-kingdoms and the several coin issues.