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<p>[QUOTE="Ardatirion, post: 1392181, member: 9204"]First off, I would suggest that the tesserae were made not in a panicked reaction to a shortage, but in a measured response to rising costs. The government was losing money by producing small denominations and ceased to do so, while at the same time at least tacitly allowing these pieces to be produced. As far as the denomination (quadrans, semis, etc), we really don't know enough to say for certain. However, there are rare pieces from Memphis in Egypt that name the denomination as two obols. </p><p style="text-align: center">As for dating, the Rome mint stopped producing small denominations in any substantial quantity after about the time of Hadrian. The need for such small pieces would have entirely evaporated by the time the main denominations were devalued to a sufficient level, probably around the time of Gallienus or shortly thereafter. This view can be externally supported, too. Lead tokens were found in excavations in the Agora of Athens, which was destroyed in AD 267, thereby providing a <i>terminus ante quem</i>. </p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18271/normal_00009x00_copy.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p><p>[TABLE="class: tableb, width: 100%"]</p><p>[TR]</p><p>[/TR]</p><p>[TR]</p><p>[TD][/TD]</p><p>[/TR]</p><p>[TR]</p><p>[TD] <b>ATTICA, Athens</b></p><p>PB Tessera. (15mm, 4.00 g)</p><p>Struck circa 200-263 AD</p><p>Helmeted head right</p><p>Blank</p><p>Lang & Crosby 246</p><p><br /></p><p>The style of the bust on this token closely matches one discovered in the Stoa at the Athenian Agora, firmly dated to the mid 3rd century AD.</p><p>[/TD]</p><p>[/TR]</p><p>[/TABLE]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> From the Roman series, a number of tesserae are known for early emperors, particularly of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. I have noticed that most of these are much more finely produced than the tesserae in general; they probably were made at a different time, for a different purpose, or perhaps even by a central authority. Among the most common rulers are Augustus, Nero, and Trajan. However, these are all widely popular emperors, several of which were even represented on the contornaites of the 4th-5th centuries, and thus useless in terms of dating. I do have a very rare, dateable piece in my collection. It shows the lighthouse of Portus, one of the ports of Rome, along with the legend ANT. This structure was restored during the reign of Antoninus Pius, thus providing a reasonably likely date to sometime during his reign!</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18271/normal_00005x00%7E0.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><b>ROME. Antoninus Pius.</b> AD 138-161.</p> <p style="text-align: center">PB Tessera (22mm, 5.09 g, 11 h)</p> <p style="text-align: center">The Lighthouse of Portus</p> <p style="text-align: center">ANT</p> <p style="text-align: center">Rostowzew 64, fig. 2; Kircheriano 66</p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center">Possibly ex Trau collection.</p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center">The Lighthouse of Portus was restored during the reign of Antoninus Pius. This tessera was likely distributed during the ceremony. </p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Ardatirion, post: 1392181, member: 9204"]First off, I would suggest that the tesserae were made not in a panicked reaction to a shortage, but in a measured response to rising costs. The government was losing money by producing small denominations and ceased to do so, while at the same time at least tacitly allowing these pieces to be produced. As far as the denomination (quadrans, semis, etc), we really don't know enough to say for certain. However, there are rare pieces from Memphis in Egypt that name the denomination as two obols. [CENTER]As for dating, the Rome mint stopped producing small denominations in any substantial quantity after about the time of Hadrian. The need for such small pieces would have entirely evaporated by the time the main denominations were devalued to a sufficient level, probably around the time of Gallienus or shortly thereafter. This view can be externally supported, too. Lead tokens were found in excavations in the Agora of Athens, which was destroyed in AD 267, thereby providing a [I]terminus ante quem[/I]. [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18271/normal_00009x00_copy.jpg[/IMG] [/CENTER] [TABLE="class: tableb, width: 100%"] [TR] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] [B]ATTICA, Athens[/B] PB Tessera. (15mm, 4.00 g) Struck circa 200-263 AD Helmeted head right Blank Lang & Crosby 246 The style of the bust on this token closely matches one discovered in the Stoa at the Athenian Agora, firmly dated to the mid 3rd century AD. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] From the Roman series, a number of tesserae are known for early emperors, particularly of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. I have noticed that most of these are much more finely produced than the tesserae in general; they probably were made at a different time, for a different purpose, or perhaps even by a central authority. Among the most common rulers are Augustus, Nero, and Trajan. However, these are all widely popular emperors, several of which were even represented on the contornaites of the 4th-5th centuries, and thus useless in terms of dating. I do have a very rare, dateable piece in my collection. It shows the lighthouse of Portus, one of the ports of Rome, along with the legend ANT. This structure was restored during the reign of Antoninus Pius, thus providing a reasonably likely date to sometime during his reign! [CENTER][IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/18271/normal_00005x00%7E0.jpg[/IMG] [B]ROME. Antoninus Pius.[/B] AD 138-161. PB Tessera (22mm, 5.09 g, 11 h) The Lighthouse of Portus ANT Rostowzew 64, fig. 2; Kircheriano 66 Possibly ex Trau collection. The Lighthouse of Portus was restored during the reign of Antoninus Pius. This tessera was likely distributed during the ceremony. [/CENTER][/QUOTE]
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