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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Al Kowsky, post: 7383231, member: 97383&quot;]No doubt the two dots I pointed out are intentional &amp; not something that was the whim of the engraver. Richard McAlee discovered this variety that wasn&#039;t known to Michel Prieur. It&#039;s possible these dots indicate a specific workshop (officina) within the mint but we really don&#039;t know for sure. Your confusion in trying to interpret the inscriptions is certainly justified <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. There are two methods used for lettering a die; using a punch made with an individual letter, or engraving directly into the die itself. The Syrian engravers preferred engraving directly into the die, &amp; they would first cut dots into the die to guide their incisions. When the dots were larger in diameter than the actual incisions the letters are nearly impossible to read <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. The later issues from the Antioch mint used the single letter punches to create the inscriptions as seen on the example pictured below of a Tet from Philip II, AD 247-249.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1285448[/ATTACH] </p><p>Notice the 3 dots below the bust of Philip II, they indicate this coin was minted in the 3rd officina. Pictured below is an older Tet from Syria that uses the dot guide technique to engrave the lettering that is much easier to read because the dots are not so large <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie50" alt=":happy:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1285451[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Seleukis &amp; Pieria, Seleukeia. Dated Year 18 (92/91 BC). AR Tetradrachm: 15.00 gm, 34 mm, 12 h.</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Sometimes the single letter die-punch technique wasn&#039;t entirely successful too as can be seen on the Roman sestertius of Maximus pictured below. Notice how some of the lettering is doubled, &amp; some of the letters were punched with such force that they displaced metal around them <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie9" alt=":eek:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1285452[/ATTACH] </p><p>Overall Roman lettering on coins is far superior to the lettering seen on Greek coins <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie6" alt=":cool:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. The Romans made lettering into a sophisticated art form that still influences modern coin design today <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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