Roman coins had different features on the front and back. He would also add fine details such as lettering and curls of hair, making each one a true work of art – no wonder they were so valuable!ĭifferent Features Were Impressed Onto Roman Coins Rare Roman gold coin, image courtesy of Antique Traders Gazette After this, the impressed coin would then be passed on to a third party, a master engraver, who would go over each coin and make sure they were perfect. One would put metal discs or sheets into the die and clamp it shut, while the other would pound it with a hammer to make an impression onto the coin. Impressing images onto coins was an exacting process that required two workers. Two or Three Workers Were Needed to Impress Stamps Onto Coins Gold Roman coin featuring Hadrian, image courtesy of Numis Corner The mint disc could be slipped in between them, clamped tightly shut, and pounded from above. Romans came up with an ingenious system for doing this, by using a hinged die that had one image attached to the top, and another to the bottom (like the inside pages of a book cover). Much like today, Roman coins had different images on each side, meaning both had to be pressed onto the coins. The metal discs were heated to soften it beforehand. Dies, or heavy stamps made of bronze and iron, were engraved with the details of the coin face, and these had to be pounded onto the flat mint to leave an impression. In the next stage of the process these plain minted discs needed to be decorated, and it was this that gave them the real finishing touch. Marking Roman Coins With Stamps or “Dies” Making Roman Coins, image courtesy of SEQAM Lab Hot Striking Metal The gold melting process, image courtesy of Business Insider Sometimes these were then pounded flat on a metal anvil to make sure they were really nice and smooth, ready for the next stage of the process. The cold striking process involved striking coins out of a cold, unheated sheet of metal, to create round discs that were flat on both sides. When making their coins, Romans used two different processes on metal – cold striking and hot striking.Ĭold Striking Metal Roman coins in gold and silver, image courtesy of Historic UK The most popular and prevalent coin of the Roman Empire was the denarius, made from pressed silver it remained in circulation for an astonishing five centuries. Early Roman coins (from the 200s BCE) were made in bronze, but they later evolved to include silver, gold and copper in the coin-making process. They were made in a workshop space known as a mint, resembling a blacksmith’s shop. Romans made coins out of flat, round discs, or ‘mints’ of pressed metal, developing a technique now known as minting – in fact, we still use the term ‘minted’ to describe someone rich today! Nowadays the minting process is all done by machines in factories, but the Romans made their minted coins entirely by hand. Making Roman Coins: The Minting Process Denarius Roman coin featuring Emperor Augustus, image courtesy of APMEX
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