Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;red_spork, post: 2706125, member: 74282&quot;]I just finished Harlan&#039;s red-cover book on moneyers for the years 81-64 B.C.. Overall, I really enjoyed it so here are some thoughts and ramblings before I go to bed:</p><p><br /></p><p>Harlan does a great job of pulling together the history of the period, the mythology, the hoard evidence(even though some of his interpretations are debated), and the traditions of various towns around Italy to tell the story of the men who minted these coins. Where this book shines in my opinion is in how well Harlan is able to extract little pieces of Roman society, for instance various public games, and explain their significance and the customs and events surrounding them in a way that in my opinion would make sense even to someone who is otherwise not well acquainted with the history of the Republic. For this reason, I think Harlan is an important book and I very much enjoyed the context that he provided around the devices chosen by many of the moneyers of this period, particularly those who were &quot;new men&quot; and are of the first generation of Rome&#039;s recently-enfranchised Italian allies to begin working their way through the Cursus Honorum.</p><p><br /></p><p>As far as my criticisms of Harlan, as has already been pointed out, his reading of the hoard evidence is certainly debatable. These arguments can be found across the net, so I am not going to go into them here. Additionally, I disagree somewhat with his firm stance that all &quot;SC&quot; issues were minted by higher magistrates - some certainly were, but I think it equally probable that some were minted by the regular moneyers either in special circumstances as needs arose during the year or for specific payments that might require a mintage for one singular purpose. That said, I do not think these criticisms outweigh the overall importance of Harlan&#039;s work. I think one can largely ignore some of his more debatable choices(i.e. his placing of the issues of Q Pomponius Musa) and read the book for its discussion of the context of what these moneyers put on their coins and how that relates to their origins and events of the times, and I think that Harlan has made it very approachable even for a novice in this area and for that reason, I think it is an important book and would wholeheartedly recommend it to those who collect the coins of this period.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in