The Baltimore show Saturday provided several opportunities to talk to old friends and even a few souvenirs of the day. These are the Republicans that followed me home. After you collect a series for a while but don't have any intention to try for a complete set, you start looking for coins that are significantly different from the rest. In the case of Republicans that means not chariots and Roma heads. One I have always wanted is the denarius of T. Carisius (46 BC) showing Juno Moneta and tools. The standard ID is anvil, upper die, tongs and hammer but I have trouble accepting the hammer as the type appropriate for coin striking so I have some doubts about the rest of the items as well. This is a popular and expensive type so I was happy to find a lower grade example. The other Republican I found is M. Herennius (108-107 BC). Of minor interest are ligate letters TA in Pietas and HE in the moneyer's name. Here the dutiful son Amphinomus is carrying his father away from the eruption of Mt. Etna. Possibly the moneyer claimed descent from the hero but it could also refer to another act of filial piety by the moneyer or his family. This is not one of the most certainly understood types in the Republican series.
Very nice additions Doug. I am actually keeping and eye out for the first myself Since you have doubts about the tools, do you have any speculation of what they were for?
No. The hammer just is not what I would use as a sledge but what do I know? I wonder about the dome top on the die as well and wonder more why I have not seen scholarly discussions of the question.
Grats on the Moneta. You are correct that they are very much popular. Makes sense, since we collect coins, it celebrates coins, etc. I have a few moneta examples, but not a republican with the tongs and hammer. I always remember that coin when people try to say ancients never used tongs to strike coins, seems funny to me.
I agree, it does look like and odd choice for a "hammer." Maybe it's designed to absorb shock. idk I think the best people to ask may be blacksmiths. Only curved hammer I could find was for shoeing horses XD
You see them pretty regularly, the thin pointed, curved hammers in mint making scenes. I wonder if the force required if striking such a small area made the dies less likely to shatter or deform. I am simply basing that on my own experience in driving ground rods. If you used a wide flat hammer, (like a mini sledge), you deformed the top pretty severely. However, if you used a narrow hammer it may be harder to hit, but the top of the ground rod would not deform.
I was kind of thinking about that too, maybe round die for redirecting the force (like an arch) to the coin. Maybe to keep them from shattering like you said, or to keep them from deforming.
I had never thought about it but if the domed top die and small hammer were high tech of the day, I could appreciate the selections. I always envisioned a big, heavy hammer wielded by a huge man rather than a small hammer used with skill. In such matters my likelihood of being correct is worse than a guess.
To add to the questions, why honor the tools used by the people making the coins, and not the ones used by people making the dies?
...because showing a near sighted little man and his tiny little die cutting instruments do not make for a very interesting coin reverse?
