![]() These steps took place over a period of centuries (roughly the 7th and 6th centuries BC). ![]() The next step was to mark the lumps with a sign that they were appropriate for commerce at the standard value. Standardized lumps made it unnecessary to weigh the metal before each transaction. Before coins existed, lumps of metal were weighed and used as items of value. Is it possible for a Byzantine event of 500 AD to be considered ancient while the same year in France is medieval? Perhaps it is better to understand that history does not come in the neat little packages some would prefer.Ĭoins are pieces of metal of pre-determined value used to facilitate commerce and represent wealth. The simple fact is that there is no clear line separating antiquity and the middle ages and students will encounter references that consider dates in this period in quite different manners. Many collectors choose not to separate the Eastern Roman and Byzantine periods and collect both even thought they do not collect medieval coins from western Europe or the rest of the world. By that year, the center of the Roman world had been moved East to Constantinople and would continue more or less uninterrupted until 1453 AD when the Byzantine empire fell to the Ottoman, Muhammad the Conqueror. Rome did not fall with a crash when the last emperor (Romulus Augustus) was deposed. Unfortunately, pigeonholing history is not all that simple. Ancient is used to separate time periods before the fall of Rome (traditional date 476 AD) and later which are termed medieval and modern. Paragraphs below and on following pages will consider Greek & Roman. This site has been named "Ancient Greek & Roman Coins". Perhaps this page will facilitate communications by leveling the playing field. Much of this material will seem obvious to most collectors but my mail suggests that there is a great variety of backgrounds of people newly interested in ancient coins. In most cases, only the first presentation of a term has been highlighted. Some explanations of the needed vocabulary are too extensive to repeat on this page so readers are encouraged to visit these additional pages. Words defined in more detail on other pages of this site will show hyperlinks. Words considered significant will be presented in bold type. The purpose of this list is assisting the students' understanding not the simple memorization of an alphabetical vocabulary list. The order will be somewhat random as they occur on our examples. ![]() We will present terms needed to describe coins by showing examples that illustrate those words. This series of pages will attempt to correct this problem. While some attempt has been made to do this in comprehensible English, it has been necessary to use a specialized vocabulary that might not be understood fully by every person. ![]() This site has been dedicated to the spreading of the 'word' on ancient coins. Ancient Coin Vocabulary Describing Ancient Coins The Vocabulary of Classical Numismatics ![]()
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