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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;dougsmit, post: 3295441, member: 19463&quot;]A recurring problem in numismatic studies is when collectors or even scholars feel a need for a name for a coin and apply one that strikes them as possible to identify the coin whether or not the word would be recognized at the mint that produced the coin.&nbsp; The fact that Athens called its 4g. coin &#039;drachm&#039; does not mean that Syracuse called its 4g. coin by this same name.&nbsp; For that matter, do we have solid evidence that Athens started using the name &#039;tetradrachm&#039; for is 17g. product when the Archaic coins were first produced and continued with that name through the last &#039;New Style&quot; issue?&nbsp;&nbsp; Certainly some of the many coins here were called by that name but how many are of that group and how many mean someone i the past 200 years decided they had no better answer and &#039;drachm&#039; sounded more scholarly than &#039;coin&#039;?&nbsp; Is the coin a quarter unit with four worth the unit or is it a drachm with four of them a tetradrachm.&nbsp; The same questions come up with other words - nummus, stater and follis come to mind - making some words mean little more than &#039;coin&#039;.&nbsp; We can not always expect to know answers with certainty but we need to be careful not to put more effort in looking like we know than we do in knowing.&nbsp; I do not have a good and complete list of names of ancient coins that are applied certainly with good support from solid evidence.&nbsp; I would really like to know what each mintmaster that produced each coin shown in this thread called his product.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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