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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;otlichnik, post: 6346772, member: 109731&quot;]As DonnaML has noted, there aren&#039;t any <i><b>rules</b></i>.&nbsp; And this can create a lot of confusion as different authors and cataloguers use different approaches.</p><p><br /></p><p>Because ancient coins are hand struck from hand-carved dies <i><b>variation</b></i> can include intentional and meaningful differences, intentional but not meaningful differences, or differences based solely on the hand of the individual engraver.</p><p><br /></p><p>People&#039;s approaches often differ depending on whether you are approaching the question from the way the coins look to us today versus the way they were produced.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>For example, two nearly identical coins with obverse legend differences like IMP CAES TRAIANO AVGVSTVS and IMP TRAIANO AVG are clearly different to look at.&nbsp; Based on what we know about Roman coin production the difference also very likely had a production significance - likely one of series and date - where one legend came after the other.&nbsp; These two coins would be given different numbers in most reference works.</p><p><br /></p><p>By contract, if the legends were IMP TRA - IANO AVG and IMP TRAI - ANO AVG, with the only difference being where the legend broke over the top of the bust, there would still be a clear visible difference, but it very likely had no meaning in the ancient world.&nbsp; It is unlikely that such a variation signified a difference in mint or series or date.&nbsp; Some catalogues would give those coins different numbers, others the same number with perhaps a simple note.&nbsp; [This is just a made up example.&nbsp; What mattered and what didn&#039;t matter varied from era to era and type to type.]</p><p><br /></p><p>If you want to examine the coinage from the perspective of ancient production then the challenge is in determining what detail is intentional and important and what is not.&nbsp; If you simply want to catalogue every visible difference that can be seen on the coins then you don&#039;t have to wrestle with that question.</p><p><br /></p><p>SC[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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