Hey everyone! I picked up this book “Coinage in the Roman Economy” because I’ve always been fascinated by the variety of Roman coinage over the centuries and ever changing metal purity & content and now that I’ve finished reading it I wanted to recommend it to others. It has almost EVERYTHING about Roman coinage! Here are some samples in case anyone else is interested. If this information looks interesting to you I highly recommend picking up this very informative book.
I wouldn't go that far but it is a good book with a lot of things you don't find elsewhere for those interested in the way coins worked rather than types and mythology. Read carefully. It is not a book to skim or speed read.
Ok maybe saying it contains everything was a bit of an exaggeration. But it does answer almost everything that a casual Ancient Roman coin collector would want to know. Yeah I did read carefully but I’ll have to read it again a few times to retain everything.
Interesting book. I was not aware that Gallus struck a heavy aureus with a radiate crown. But if I see one at the corner coin store I'll be sure to pick one up!!!
I didn’t know either and I majored in Classical History. xD Apparently the heavy Aureus counted as two Aureii in financial transactions. I had no clue there were “double” aureii. Definitely check it out if you get a chance! There is a lot of interesting information in it!
I've seen these double AV denominations pop up in higher end auctions (like in CNG, NAC, Kunker...etc.) on occasion. They are sometimes labelled "binios". Lighter aurei from this period are often labelled "quinarii".
Ahh ok thanks for the info! I mean even the “doubles” didn’t have more gold than the older aureus coins. What’s crazy is that with Roman gold coins you’re holding gold that was minted with bronze & iron tools by hand and most likely by slaves. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into those coins. Not like today where machines do most of the work and the main expense is running the machine.
Is Kenneth Harl the author? I've listened to a lot of his lectures on the Great Courses. They are very interesting.
The Binio (radiate double Aureus) was introduced by Caracalla together with it´s silver counterpiece, the radiate double-Denarius. Gold Binios were struck by a dozen Emperors, but all except those of Gallus, Volusian and Valerian are exceedingly rare today. This one here is owned by the KHM in Vienna:
