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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Ken Dorney, post: 3240125, member: 76086&quot;]I&#039;m going to go out on a limb on this one, so just bear with me after the coin itself:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]847969[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>Reign of Antoninus Pius to Marcus Aurelius, 138 – 180 AD</b></p><p>Æ Quadrans, Pannonian Mint, 16mm, 2.76 grams</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Obverse:</b>&nbsp; Radiate head of Sol right.</p><p><b>Reverse:</b>&nbsp; METAL PANNONI CIS in three lines.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>References:</b></p><p>BMC1860 (Hadrian)&nbsp; //&nbsp; Woytek111-2</p><p><br /></p><p>Although I have no direct literature on these coins myself, CNG notes an argument has been made for their being struck in Rome, but in which I disagree (<a href="https://cngcoins.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=132" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://cngcoins.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=132" rel="nofollow">https://cngcoins.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=132</a>).&nbsp; All these &#039;mine&#039; types are very rare and their limited distribution seems to source them to the places in which they advertise themselves as being from.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, why include them in this thread?&nbsp; Perhaps it is a stretch, but I dont think entirely.&nbsp; More likely it is that they are rare enough that there is little to read or study about them.&nbsp; Nevertheless the Roman mines in various locales undoubtedly had settlements right along side them (villages, towns, cities, if you will).&nbsp; Much infrastructure would have been needed to support the mines and I would suggest that they likely had a mint either on the premises or in the closest settlement.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The small number of examples to have survived to modern times indicates to me that they were issued and used in a very limited fashion, perhaps as donative pieces, for paying taxes, or localized commerce.&nbsp; Most likely however is that they were used in a combination of all those situations.</p><p><br /></p><p>The inscription on the piece tells us something more.&nbsp; While some words have slightly different meanings, it can be read as &quot;Metal <i>or</i> Mine from <i>or</i> of Pannonia&quot;.&nbsp; I think the meaning is pretty clear, and if one were to ask in ancient times they would likely be able to associate the coin with a specific town, not just the mine itself. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, take it <i>cum grano salis</i> if that helps.&nbsp; I was just re-photographing the coin today and it made me think of this thread.&nbsp; Still dont like the photo though![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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