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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-monolith-, post: 26653876, member: 150064&quot;]<p style="text-align: center"><b>UPDATE:</b></p> <p style="text-align: center"><br /></p> <p style="text-align: center">Mystery finally solved. I spent some time doing further research on why these coins were countermarked with these odd punches. In 133 BC Attalus III of Pergamon died and bequeathed his kingdom to Rome. Therefore control of Lydia, including Sardes, suddenly shifted from Hellenistic royal administration to Roman provincial control. This left most new minting and existing currency in limbo until the mints could be converted. With no Roman provincial mint structure, no standardized civic countermark iconography, and no clear tariff system for bronze coinage they improvised and just used a simple circular punch to revalidate the coinage. </p><p>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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