So much or the old assumption that no Gold coins were struck in Britain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carausius Take Care Ben
No, just truthful. But what would you expect from an encyclopedia written by people who think they know what they are talking about ? In a real encyclopedia facts are checked and then re-checked before they are ever published.
I totally agree. Wiki is incredibly overrated and should be considered entertainment, not information.
Doug, the link was just for information on Carausius which I believe is accurate enough to prove he was in Britain. Ben
Bone I was not commenting on the accuracy or inaccuracy of the particular link you posted. Instead I was commenting on Wikipedia in general. There is indeed a great deal of inaccurate information posted there. It was your comment - "So much or the old assumption that no Gold coins were struck in Britain" that prompted my comment because it is a erroneous assumption that you mentioned. Yes I understand that you were not agreeing with the assumption - neither was I. Nor would most others who have even a basic knowledge of numismatics.
Well, it would have saved A LOT of consternation on my part if you'd have added that little bit of info to begin with... Here is a link which might support my perceived observation, considering other posts you've made... http://www.kenelks.co.uk/coins/london/londonmint.htm Take Care Ben
Interesting info for sure. What I always wonder is why those people couldn't use English so we could read what the things say easier. :smileAnd why not put the dates and mint marks there so we could read them too? Those Romans just didn't care about us coin collectors at all.
Honestly, its almost as good as English, being mostly titles and names, which don't have to change in a translation. Its in the same alphabet, even! Try the legends here, taken from an aureus of Trajan IMP CAESAR TRAIAN HADRIANVS AVG Now, the hardest part there is knowing what the abbreviations stand for. So, that means it says Imperator Caesar Trainus Hadrianus Augustus. Not too much different, eh? Granted, some of the reverse legends get more complicated. Take this one for example, from a sestertius of Claudius. EX / S C / O B / CIVES / SERVATOS Indeed, more complicated. As for placing mintmarks on their coins, they started doing that in the third century. Just dots in the exergue at first, then X's, I's and V's. But eventually they got to wholescale abbreviations of the mintnames. PLN, for example, stood for Prima Londonium, or the first workshop of the London mint. Or SMANT, for Sacra Moneta Antiocha. Heck, in the mid forth century you even have the HERACL mintmark for the Heraclea mint!
