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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;utopos, post: 2592140, member: 83865&quot;]&quot;</p><p><b>How dies were sunk is still being debated. There is not much evidence, but we have the coins, and some idea of how many were struck. A coining team could produce up to 20,000 strikes, wearing out a set of dies, in one day. During the 2nd century about 17 million Roman denarii were issued each year, so a year&#039;s issue required up to 1000&nbsp; dies; the bronze issues of the Constantinian period must have required many thousands of dies.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Roman coins all bear standardized portraits, and it is difficult to visualize how portraits could be so uniform if&nbsp; dies were individually engraved by many artisans. Two replication processes were feasible, though we have no proof that the Romans used them: casting dies and hubbing (impressing a design into soft metal). The Greeks used bronze or lead die patterns to cast bronze dies, and at least two pattern specimens have survived.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>If&nbsp; a replication process were used for the central design, the process would have been similar to that described by the medallist Cellini in the 1500s:</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>1) The central design is sunk in the die blank, either by casting or hubbing.</b></p><p><b>2) The legend is added by letter punches which are individually struck, perhaps using a fixture to align them.</b></p><p><b>3) The border is similarly added by punching dots around the legend.</b></p><p><b>4) The completed design is hand engraved for touchup where needed, then polished.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Alternatively, the die-making workshop may have employed apprentices working under master engravers who cut the portrait. This would explain why engraving of&nbsp; the portrait is frequently much better than the surrounding work. Standardization of portraits may be explained by the master engravers copying official portrait medals.&quot;</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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