A friend of mine is teaching an introductory Latin class. He signed up with an organization (I don't know who) that promotes Latin. Among other things, they sent him a box full of run of the mill dirt encrusted Roman coins. My friend has asked me to do a brief presentation on the best way to clean them up some (he wants the class to some do hands on work), coin making in ancient times, and, time permitting, ongoing use of Latin on modern coins. For the last one, I'll probably use Canadian or British coins. For the former two however, I don't have much experience. Does anyone know where I can pick up some of this info to present in a way (in less than an hour) that won't bore the class of non-numismatists (most of the students are late elementary and early middle school age)?
Salve! The coins cannot be cleaned quickly. You might be able to get much of the dirt off with a toothbrush, but mostly, people soak ancients in olive oil and wait months. Some people wear diopters (magnifying glasses) and use a dental pick, toothpick, or rose thorn, and it still takes hours or longer to clean the coin without damaging it. Kids do not have that kind of patience. Minting histories include The Coin Makers by Becker. Many other books, especially about ancient coins, do share what little we know. Basically, the "heads" side was cut into an anvil and the "tails" side was the driving die. By Roman Imperial times, we think that a "clamshell" device with both dies was more common. D G DEF FID R is one thing, but E PLURIBUS UNUM is another. Also, in one of my high school classrooms, there was the Preamble to the Constitution with the Latin-based words in red. For coins, that would include LIBERTY and UNITED STATES (of) AMERICA. Semper Vale!
