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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Eyestrain, post: 1061012, member: 24213&quot;]Ostia was the port city for ancient Rome -- far enough away on the coast to be a city separate from the capital it served (today, the port for Rome is in Civitavecchia, farther to the north). It was home to an active mint during the Tetrarchy period when coins had to be struck in the name of two Augusti and two Caesars due to the way the empire was divided. With so many rulers, all the mints were working overtime producing plenty of bronzes. The pace never really let up until the fall of the western half of the empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>As mentioned, M stands for Moneta, and OST for Ostia, but there are two possible translations -- &quot;Money of Ostia&quot; or &quot;Mint of Ostia.&quot; Different people interpret the M that shows up in mintmark exergues as one or the other, with no definitive answer.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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