Is there a specific name for the 'faded' and 'stretched' effect of the lettering on the edge of roman denarii? What causes this and is it specific to denarii? Why don't later hammered coins have this effect? Many thanks!!
In my limited knowledge, this is the effect of a hot (silver in this case) flan being striken with great force, resulting in so called 'flow marks'. I suspect this not being the case with the very thin hammered coins, as there is not that much metal. Flow marks are considered a sign of genuity. However, it is of course possible to strike a coin yourself, which may also result in flow marks.
The ultimate result is heavy wear of the dies which you regularly see on later antoniniani; we then speak of 'worn dies'.
I call them "flow lines". See https://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/halo_coins.html The first coins struck by the die do not have this feature, no matter how hot the coin is or how hard it was struck. The dies themselves heat up and soften. The metal on the coins does flow a bit, which gradually wears down the die, mostly in the places where the coin metal flows. The last coin struck by the die will have these marks, even if the flan was very cold and the coin was softly struck. That is the theory, I've not seen actual die studies showing the progression of these lines.
