……… Following the conquest of Britannia by Claudius - still learning about them - all comments, corrections and additions are most welcome. OVERVIEW As Mattingly points out in "Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum" (BMCRE), Volume I, the main purpose of Countermarks on coins was to extend their circulation under new authority. Claudian and other early aes coins were countermarked for use throughout (especially) the northern frontiers of the Empire, including Britain. The marks may have been applied by officials to confirm the continued validity of old, much worn and/or inferior coins, particularly when the supply of new coins to the frontier areas fell short of established goals. There were other occasions when a shortage of aes coinage in Britain may have led to locally-produced coins being countermarked and accepted as official issues. In his article "The Countermark PROB on Coins of Claudius I from Britain" (The Numismatic Chronicle Vol. 148 {1988}, pp. 53-61), Robert Kenyon records that after his conquest of Britain in 42AD (and maybe planned before) Claudius issued large quantities of early OB CIVES SERVATOS (without PP) and SPES Sestertii of 41AD (minted in Rome) for use in general commerce in Britain. All of this coinage was countermarked PROB (Probatum=approved) on the coin obverse. It seems that there was a large amount of irregular coinage (struck from locally made unofficial dies) produced in Gaul with Roman Imperial approval in order to provide additional currency, especially in Britain following the conquest of that country by Claudius. These coins, which often were of inferior design and execution, were also countermarked PROB on the coin obverse and circulated as legal tender despite their often flawed appearance. The countermarks were heavily incused (stamped within a border) on the coin obverses in order to survive prolonged usage and wear. Countermarks on Roman coins were not used until Augustus became Emperor. They first appear on his moneyer series of aes coinage. In my experience surviving countermarked coins from this period of Britannic history are usually much worn and in not very good condition. I collect them due to their historical association and significance. EXAMPLE COUNTERMARKED COINS BMCRE, Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 120, 41-45AD (38mm, 29.2gm) Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP Countermarked PROB Mattingly note - Cmk in oblong incuse in front of neck and face; end of legend obliterated Reverse depiction: Civic Oak Wreath Inscription in four lines: EX SC O B C I V E S SERVATOS (within Civic Oak Wreath) Enlargement of PROB countermark: I believe this to be an irregular issue coin (struck from locally made unofficial dies). Note the flattened and bulged area on the reverse resulting from the very heavily struck countermark on the obverse which was carelessly positioned almost off the flan. The inscriptional lettering on the reverse is somewhat uneven and not very well formed. Later (PP marked) coins were not so Countermarked and were probably not circulated in Britain: BMCRE Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 185, 42AD and on (38mm, 29.8gm) Plate 36 Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP PP Mattingly note - with PP (Pater Patriae) marking Reverse depiction: Civic Oak Wreath Inscription in four lines: EX SC P P OB CIVES SERVATOS (within Civic Oak Wreath) Claudius also Countermarked and issued asses and dupondii of Caligula in order to extend the supply of money after his expedition to Britain and his subsequent conquest of the island. Mattingly lists TIAV (Tiberius Claudius Augustus) as the Countermark used by Claudius on those coins. They were issued for extended circulation in Britain by Claudius following his Victory there. These were the common Roman denominations used as legal tender in Britannia - evidently for a very long time, for many are found in very worn condition. Following is an example of such a Countermarked coin: Much worn Germanicus SIGNIS RECEPT dupondius BMCRE, Vol I, Caligula, No. 93 (RIC, Vol I, No. 57) Reverse: Claudius Countermark TIAV in oblong incuse to left of head Mattingly, BMCRE, Vol. I, Caligula, No. 93 & Plate 30 Enlargement of TIAV countermark: A much clearer photograph of TIAV countermark on an As originally issued by Caligula: Agrippa Obverse & Neptune reverse As BMCRE, Vol I, Tiberius, No. 168 (RIC, Vol I, No. 58) Plate 26 Reverse: Claudius Countermark TIAV (A and V ligatured) in oblong incuse to left of head of Neptune. "in hand" enlargement of countermark: Neptune reverse As, BMCRE, Vol I, Tiberius, No. 168 (RIC, Vol I, No. 58) Plate 26 Reverse: Claudius Countermark TIAV in oblong incuse to left of head of Neptune. Nero also Countermarked and issued Claudius sestertii in order to extend the supply of money in Britain after the death of Claudius. This coinage was countermarked NCAPR - which is interpreted different ways by collectors and researchers, with the most popular and frequently used interpretation being Nero Claudius Augustus Probavit. The same problem that existed with Claudius countermarked sestertii - a large amount of irregular coinage struck in Gaul with Roman Imperial approval in order to provide additional currency, especially in Britain - led to these coins also being countermarked NCAPR on the coin obverse and circulated as legal tender despite their often flawed appearance. BMCRE, Vol. I, CLAUDIUS, SESTERTIUS, Rome, No. 123, 41-45AD (35mm, 22.3gm) Obverse depiction: Claudius, laureate head facing right Inscription: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP Countermarked NCAPR in oblong incuse rectangle behind head Reverse depiction: Triumphal arch surmounted by equestrian statue of Nero Claudius Drusus Inscription: NERO CLAVDIVS DRVSVS GERMAN IMP This coin was well struck and centered. Likewise, the countermark is well struck and correctly positioned. I believe this to be a coin originally produced at the Rome mint. Enlargement of NCAPR countermark: REFERENCE RESOURCES The Countermarks found on Ancient Roman coins - A brief Introduction - Richard Baker (PDF) Coinage of Britain during the Roman Occupation by Peter R. Thompson - The Ormskirk & West Lancashire Numismatic Society Money in the Military Community in the Early Empire by Andrzej Kunisz - Silesian University, Kratowice (PDF) Museum of Countermarks on Roman Coins - Roman Coins & More - Roman Numismatic Gallery Mattingly, Harold: Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum (BMCRE), Volume 1 (Augustus to Vitellius) - Standard reference Book & Catalog (British Museum Publication)
I have updated the information in this post and incorporated it into my web page: http://jp29.org/000counter.htm which is covered by a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License in order to permit visitors to freely copy and use the content with attribution to me.
I couldn’t find anything either - but I am somewhat a “babe in the woods” as far as these countermarked coins are concerned - strictly in a learning mode.
I was surprised by the number of examples of modern fakes of Ancient coin countermarks reported here: http://www.romancoins.info/CMK-curiosities.html .......... I suppose it was inevitable.
Hmm. I hadn't even considered that people are faking countermarks! I guess that makes sense though, as much as any modern counterfeiting.
I note, for example that the several NCAPR fakes are from the same stamp but others would have to be told from the stamp being placed on top of the corrosion. I worry especially about the hand cut XLII which was placed after several centuries so there could be corrosion under the cuts. A fake countermark on a cast fake coin might draw attention away from the fact that the host coin was also fake making the process more worthwhile. Scary.
I can imagine unscrupulous individuals taking extremely worn ancient coins with undecipherable features, stamping them with homemade “countermark” punches, “distressing” the resultant fakes and then selling the formerly worthless slugs for a handsome profit. Another Caveat Emptor.
