During the seventy-year period covered by Roman Bronze Coins, Christian symbols on coins increased as that religion gradually replaced the traditional Roman gods as the official state religion. The book begins with the Emperor Diocletian’s empire-wide coin reform and his failure to establish price controls. It transitions into the fourth century where his successful reorganization of the Roman government paved the way for Constantine the Great’s thirty year rule that ushered the Christian transformation.
The author, with two other collaborators, have together more than 90 years experience in ancient coin collecting.
Chapter one is a historical overview of the entire 70 year period with coins listed that correspond to the events described.
Chapter two is a listing of the more than 470 distinct types, again broken up by time periods (and in three major periods according to RIC). Rarity is also listed for each of these coins.
Chapter three describes mint marks and other letters listed on the reverse of the coins. The chapter provides a mint-by-mint breakdown of these letters by year, so that you can accurately date your coin. The chapter includes a map.
The next two chapters discuss major varieties of the coins with check lists to help the collector. The check list includes descriptions of persons, places, and things illustrated on the coins.
The final chapter covers the obverse and the various names and titles of the personages depicted.
There is an appendix that deals with coin attributes, size, weight, etc. and another which lists which emperor controlled which mints and when. The index contains, not only where to find the coins in the major list, but very accurate translations by a recognized L:atin scholar, of the meanings of the reverse legends.
The bibliography is seven pages long of additional books and articles that were consulted to write the book. The coins are illustrated virtually in actual size with over 1,000 of them in full color that takes 42 pages to show them.
This convenient, one-volume reference uses the humble bronze coin to trace that story and provide coin collectors several different ways to identify and catalog the coin:
By ruler or personage
Because so many rulers and personages shared the same name and titles, there are several charts that, by the process of elimination, help you identify the correct ruler.
By the reverse type
If the reverse legend is visible, consult the General Index; if the reverse scene is visible, crosscheck the coin in the chapter, “Collecting by Theme, the Iconography of the Reverse.” Generally speaking, new reverse types for rulers are quiet rare, but if they exist, this book will help you spot them quickly.
By reverse variety
Once you know the type, you can determine whether this is a variety that has been expanded in this book. The easiest way is to see if there is an asterisk (*) before the catalog number.
By mint and year struck
The chapter, “Dating and Controlling the Coins, the Roman Way,” lists different mint, sequence and other marks and is divided in exergue and field markings sections. It also contains speculation as to the meanings of these marks, letters, and symbols. Consulting the individual mint city pages will allow, by the process of elimination, the identification of the year(s) when a particular coin was struck.
By historical context
Once you have determined the year or years that a coin was struck, look in Chapter One, the “History of the Period and Associated Coin Types” to see if that coin has been tied to a specific historical event.
The Coin Attribute Reference Chart, in Appendix A, should provide a ready reference for coin dates, names, value, weight, and other attributes.
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