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Two countermarked owls, the Gemini twins and Melqart riding a hippocamp
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<p>[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 7530204, member: 110350"]Very interesting. One thing I'm not clear on, though, is how one can tell that marks of this kind are countermarks (see <a href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Countermark" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Countermark" rel="nofollow">https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Countermark</a>), applied to coins for reasons including "revalidation, revaluation, devaluation, and propaganda" (id.), as opposed to banker's marks, which, as I understand it, are similar to test cuts except that they're in the form of shapes, letters, etc. See</p><p><a href="http://coins2.calkinsc.com/cs/index.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://coins2.calkinsc.com/cs/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://coins2.calkinsc.com/cs/index.html</a>:</p><p><br /></p><p>"Banker's Mark</p><p><br /></p><p>Banker's marks are similar to test cuts in that they were used to affirm a coin's validity, but marks were often letters or shapes, rather than simply punches. The letter or symbol identified the private merchant or government official (such as a civic banker who was stationed at a port who validated currency that was to pass into the country) that was satisfied that the coin was genuine. Banker's marks can be found frequently enough placed such that the ruler's portrait is not impaired by the mark - this appears to have been a conscious choice, rather than by accident.</p><p><br /></p><p>Countermark (Counterstamp)</p><p><br /></p><p>Countermarks (counterstamps) were used for a variety of purposes. As given by Baker, reasons included:</p><p><br /></p><p>To extend the geographical range that a coin would be accepted as legal tender.</p><p>Coins issued in a Roman mint for circulation in provinces, or coins struck in a provincial mint for circulation in other parts of the empire, could be stamped to ensure they could circulate elsewhere. Similarly, locally-struck provincial imitations of Roman coinage could be marked to indicate they had Imperial approval.</p><p><br /></p><p>To continue in use a coin which had been in circulation for a considerable period of time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Worn coins could be stamped to change or reaffirm their value, or to give coins of a previous ruler a guarantee of acceptance by the current ruler.</p><p><br /></p><p>To designate a new authority usurping the coins of another for their own use.</p><p>Coins could be marked by the followers of a revolting general or legion, sometimes to deface the portrait of he who was being rebelled against. Also, local coinage could be stamped with Roman or legionary countermarks so they could be used as legal tender by the legion, such as Legion X, Fretensis stamping X, XF or LXF on coins of Judaea and Samaria."</p><p><br /></p><p>See also the article at <a href="http://www.accla.org/actaaccla/baker2.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.accla.org/actaaccla/baker2.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.accla.org/actaaccla/baker2.html</a>, explaining as follows in relevant part:</p><p><br /></p><p>"The definition of a countermark (sometimes referred to as a counterstamp) has, for unknown reasons, been avoided by most writers on the subject. This may have caused some past confusion with such terms as "punched," "counterpunched" and "overstruck." So let us begin by saying, a countermarked coin is one which has had a secondary stamp impressed upon it at some time subsequent to its original minting [ 2 ]. This countermarking could be done to a relatively new coin or to a coin which had been in circulation for many years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Because of the need for anyone interested in Roman coinage to know when he or she is observing a countermarked coin, to know the purposes for the use of such marks and to encourage further investigation when such marks are encountered, I have chosen to introduce this subject to my readers in outline form. For this purpose, after a brief introduction, I have listed some of the most interesting and illustrative types of Roman countermarks together with their striking authority and purposes for their use.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coinage of the period of the Roman Republic seldom contains countermarks. There are some sporadic instances of countermarks being placed upon Republican coins still in circulation during the "Empire." By the Empire I refer to that period from 27 BCE until 476 CE when Rome was ruled by a succession of Emperors.</p><p><br /></p><p>Instead of countermarks the coinage of the Republic often contained bankersmarks, also called punchmarks. This term concerns the practice of placing test cuts or "punching" incised letters or emblems upon the surface of a coin by merchants and moneychangers to determine whether a coin was pure metal or plated. They are found primarily on the gold and silver issues.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman countermarks as such did not come into use until the introduction of the imperial era by Augustus. There were several reasons why a Roman coin might be countermarked during this period, and various authors give divergent views on the matter. By "pooling" these views one comes up with the three following major categories:</p><p><br /></p><p>CATEGORY 1.To extend the geographical area in which the coin would be accepted as legal tender.</p><p><br /></p><p>CATEGORY 2. To continue in use a coin which had been in circulation for a considerable period of time.</p><p><br /></p><p>CATEGORY 3.To designate a new authority usurping the coins of another for their own use." [Examples follow.]</p><p><br /></p><p>Thus, my own Athenian owl has something that's clearly a test cut on the owl's face, but also has what I assume is a banker's mark on the owl's stomach (the circle with a raised dot in the center that looks like it could be a theta):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1300118[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Plus, as was recently pointed out to me, there's some sort of shape incised in the reverse right field; it looks to me like a cat's face!</p><p><br /></p><p>And then there's this "banker's mark" next to Medusa's mouth:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1300120[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, there's this apparent banker's mark on the obverse of another Republican coin I recently acquired:</p><p><br /></p><p>Roman Republic, C. Memmius C.f., AR Denarius, 56 BCE [Crawford], 57 BCE [Harlan], Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head of Quirinus right [deified aspect of Romulus and/or Italian deity worshipped on Quirinal Hill; <i>see footnote</i>], hair long, beard in formal ringlets, C•MEMMI•C•F downwards to right, QVIRINVS downwards to left; <i><b>banker’s mark or test mark to left of Quirinus’s eye, in shape of bird? inside flower or star</b></i>/ Rev. Ceres seated right, holding torch in left hand and corn ear in right hand; at her feet, snake rearing with head right; MEMMIVS •AED• CERIALIA•PREIMVS•FECIT [<i>translated as “Memmius as aedile first held the games of Ceres” (Harlan RRM II pp. 99-100)</i>] downwards from upper left; <i>old graffiti resembling an “X” to right of Ceres</i>. Crawford 427/2, RSC I Memmia 9 (ill.), Sear RCV I 388 (ill.), BMCRR 3940; Sydenham 921; Harlan RRM II, Ch. 12 at pp. 95-103; RBW Collection 1532; Jones, J.M., <i>A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins</i> (1990) [entry for “Quirinus” at p. 264]. 19.5 mm., 3.71 g. (Footnote omitted.)</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1300121[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1300122[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Am I correct to assume that none of these coins has what you consider an actual countermark? If so, to repeat my question, how can you tell that the marks on your coins are, in fact, countermarks or counterstamps?[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DonnaML, post: 7530204, member: 110350"]Very interesting. One thing I'm not clear on, though, is how one can tell that marks of this kind are countermarks (see [URL]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Countermark[/URL]), applied to coins for reasons including "revalidation, revaluation, devaluation, and propaganda" (id.), as opposed to banker's marks, which, as I understand it, are similar to test cuts except that they're in the form of shapes, letters, etc. See [URL]http://coins2.calkinsc.com/cs/index.html[/URL]: "Banker's Mark Banker's marks are similar to test cuts in that they were used to affirm a coin's validity, but marks were often letters or shapes, rather than simply punches. The letter or symbol identified the private merchant or government official (such as a civic banker who was stationed at a port who validated currency that was to pass into the country) that was satisfied that the coin was genuine. Banker's marks can be found frequently enough placed such that the ruler's portrait is not impaired by the mark - this appears to have been a conscious choice, rather than by accident. Countermark (Counterstamp) Countermarks (counterstamps) were used for a variety of purposes. As given by Baker, reasons included: To extend the geographical range that a coin would be accepted as legal tender. Coins issued in a Roman mint for circulation in provinces, or coins struck in a provincial mint for circulation in other parts of the empire, could be stamped to ensure they could circulate elsewhere. Similarly, locally-struck provincial imitations of Roman coinage could be marked to indicate they had Imperial approval. To continue in use a coin which had been in circulation for a considerable period of time. Worn coins could be stamped to change or reaffirm their value, or to give coins of a previous ruler a guarantee of acceptance by the current ruler. To designate a new authority usurping the coins of another for their own use. Coins could be marked by the followers of a revolting general or legion, sometimes to deface the portrait of he who was being rebelled against. Also, local coinage could be stamped with Roman or legionary countermarks so they could be used as legal tender by the legion, such as Legion X, Fretensis stamping X, XF or LXF on coins of Judaea and Samaria." See also the article at [URL]http://www.accla.org/actaaccla/baker2.html[/URL], explaining as follows in relevant part: "The definition of a countermark (sometimes referred to as a counterstamp) has, for unknown reasons, been avoided by most writers on the subject. This may have caused some past confusion with such terms as "punched," "counterpunched" and "overstruck." So let us begin by saying, a countermarked coin is one which has had a secondary stamp impressed upon it at some time subsequent to its original minting [ 2 ]. This countermarking could be done to a relatively new coin or to a coin which had been in circulation for many years. Because of the need for anyone interested in Roman coinage to know when he or she is observing a countermarked coin, to know the purposes for the use of such marks and to encourage further investigation when such marks are encountered, I have chosen to introduce this subject to my readers in outline form. For this purpose, after a brief introduction, I have listed some of the most interesting and illustrative types of Roman countermarks together with their striking authority and purposes for their use. The coinage of the period of the Roman Republic seldom contains countermarks. There are some sporadic instances of countermarks being placed upon Republican coins still in circulation during the "Empire." By the Empire I refer to that period from 27 BCE until 476 CE when Rome was ruled by a succession of Emperors. Instead of countermarks the coinage of the Republic often contained bankersmarks, also called punchmarks. This term concerns the practice of placing test cuts or "punching" incised letters or emblems upon the surface of a coin by merchants and moneychangers to determine whether a coin was pure metal or plated. They are found primarily on the gold and silver issues. Roman countermarks as such did not come into use until the introduction of the imperial era by Augustus. There were several reasons why a Roman coin might be countermarked during this period, and various authors give divergent views on the matter. By "pooling" these views one comes up with the three following major categories: CATEGORY 1.To extend the geographical area in which the coin would be accepted as legal tender. CATEGORY 2. To continue in use a coin which had been in circulation for a considerable period of time. CATEGORY 3.To designate a new authority usurping the coins of another for their own use." [Examples follow.] Thus, my own Athenian owl has something that's clearly a test cut on the owl's face, but also has what I assume is a banker's mark on the owl's stomach (the circle with a raised dot in the center that looks like it could be a theta): [ATTACH=full]1300118[/ATTACH] Plus, as was recently pointed out to me, there's some sort of shape incised in the reverse right field; it looks to me like a cat's face! And then there's this "banker's mark" next to Medusa's mouth: [ATTACH=full]1300120[/ATTACH] Finally, there's this apparent banker's mark on the obverse of another Republican coin I recently acquired: Roman Republic, C. Memmius C.f., AR Denarius, 56 BCE [Crawford], 57 BCE [Harlan], Rome Mint. Obv. Laureate head of Quirinus right [deified aspect of Romulus and/or Italian deity worshipped on Quirinal Hill; [I]see footnote[/I]], hair long, beard in formal ringlets, C•MEMMI•C•F downwards to right, QVIRINVS downwards to left; [I][B]banker’s mark or test mark to left of Quirinus’s eye, in shape of bird? inside flower or star[/B][/I]/ Rev. Ceres seated right, holding torch in left hand and corn ear in right hand; at her feet, snake rearing with head right; MEMMIVS •AED• CERIALIA•PREIMVS•FECIT [[I]translated as “Memmius as aedile first held the games of Ceres” (Harlan RRM II pp. 99-100)[/I]] downwards from upper left; [I]old graffiti resembling an “X” to right of Ceres[/I]. Crawford 427/2, RSC I Memmia 9 (ill.), Sear RCV I 388 (ill.), BMCRR 3940; Sydenham 921; Harlan RRM II, Ch. 12 at pp. 95-103; RBW Collection 1532; Jones, J.M., [I]A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins[/I] (1990) [entry for “Quirinus” at p. 264]. 19.5 mm., 3.71 g. (Footnote omitted.) [ATTACH=full]1300121[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1300122[/ATTACH] Am I correct to assume that none of these coins has what you consider an actual countermark? If so, to repeat my question, how can you tell that the marks on your coins are, in fact, countermarks or counterstamps?[/QUOTE]
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Two countermarked owls, the Gemini twins and Melqart riding a hippocamp
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