I just spent a few minutes making this map online. The pins mark the location where each coin in my collection was minted. I'm cleaning some LRBs right now, so who knows what other mints might show up! Have any of you guys made similar maps before? Want to share them? This is the "Hopper" style for Snazzymaps if anyone wants to make their own.
It looks kind of funky with their editor, so I might go back and do this on my own. Here are labels with their tool.
I have a map, but it doesn't have the same level of specificity as yours. My ancient mints include Rome Ticinum Arelate Cyzicus Antioch Siscia Constantinopolis I don't really do anything Greek, so it ends there. I also have a few coins which unknown mints.
My coins come from Mints found on Six Continents. I think I have coins from 700+ mints. Some of my earliest Archaic EL coinage / mints are not known....
That makes for a pretty cool map! This type of thing reaffirms that I definitely fall onto the "collector" side of the spectrum as opposed to the "numismatist" side when it comes to ancient coins. I have a few hundred coins that I really love, but I have no idea where specifically they were minted.
perfect, this helps too. I USED to own coins from a few of these mints that I didn't add in my above post Including Heraclea, Alexandria, and Trier. Thanks for sharing.
Here is a brilliant page which may help. The top left margin has the locations of the mints, and the bottom left area has the different marks you will find on Roman coinage after the reforms Diocletian set.
Turns out this is really easy to do in python too. Here's a version of the map where the number of coins from each place is proportional to the marker size (up to a limit). It's only ~20 lines and should be clear to edit, even if you don't know python. Let me know if you want the code.
Thanks for the tip! But, the reason that I haven't determined the places of origin isn't because I couldn't figure it out, it's because I'm simply not all that interested. When it comes to persons on Roman coins that I am interested in, I want examples that I can afford that are as aesthetically pleasing as possible (Mostly the bust). Beyond that, I don't really care about the meaning of the legends, the mints, the interpretation of the reverses, etc., etc. I'm more interested in the history of the people, and the coins provide a contemporary link to those stories. I feel like I derive as much satisfaction as anybody in collecting these coins, but like I said, I'm a coin collector, not a coin scholar. Each to their own!
I feel that knowing about minting locations helps tell the story of the individual coin. I started collecting not because I am especially interested in this emperor or that emperor, but instead because I can own a little piece of art from 2,000 years ago. Knowing where and when my coins were made gives me a direct connection to the actual artists - common people, even if I only know them by the officina mark. To each their own. If we all liked the same things about our collections I would never win a single auction
