One of the men who would mint his own coins when he attempted to lay claim to the position of emperor was Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius, a notable Roman general who lived in the 3rd century. Unlike many famous Roman officers, Carausius was a naval commander of the British fleet and placed in charge of suppressing piracy around Britain. Carausius ran afoul of his rulers who ordered his arrest, believing that he was collaborating with the pirates. Rather than submitting, Carausius revolted and declared himself emperor in 286 A.D., securing Roman Britain and parts of Gaul.

Until recently, little has been known about this episode in Roman history. The greatest finds involving his short reign have involved examples of the Roman coins he minted during this period. These coins not only speak of Carausius’ reign, but of the nature of the political and military actions he took to remain in power. As only one inscription bearing his name survives in Britain, it is plain that the Roman coin is the primary source of contemporary information about this remarkable Roman general. However, it was not until 2010, when a huge horde of at least 52,000 coins was recovered near Somerset, that the full extent of Carausius’ activities became known.

One Roman coin showed Carausius along with Diocletion and Maxinian, and spoke to a possible attempt to avoid a complete breach with the legitimate rulers of the empire. A Roman coin minted in 289 A.D. showed a different relationship, celebrating Carausius’ victory over Maximianus’s fleet during the latter’s attempted invasion of Britain. Other coins celebrated those legions that were loyal to Carausius as well as attempting to prove his legitimacy by minting silver coins—the only pure silver coins minted in the empire during that period.

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of these coins was how Carausius attempted to present himself as a savior of the British people during this era. A Roman coin that declared him the “Long Awaited One,” indicated that Carausius was capable of engaging in sophisticated propaganda moves, comparing himself to Hector from the Aeneid. Clearly a move to secure the loyalty of the British, it was this political skill, no less than his military acumen, which explained why he was capable of standing off the rest of the Roman Empire for so long.

Eventually the might of the Empire proved too great for its wayward general. After the defeat of Carausius’ forces in modern-day France, he was murdered by Allectus. Allectus’s reign only lasted a few more years after 293 A.D., being killed in the invasion of 296 A.D. that restored Britain to the empire.

Ironically, when one considers the use Carausius made of coins in maintaining his reign’s legitimacy, the final defeat of the regime he founded was also celebrated by a Roman coin, this one showing Constantius Chlorus entering the now subjugated London at the head of his army. Without the aid of the coins minted by both sides, it is likely that these events in history would remain effectively unknown to modern historians.

References:

Bédoyère, Guy de la “Carausius and the marks RSR and I.N.P.C.D.A.” The Numismatic Chronicle 158 (1998), pp.79-88.

Eutropius, Abridgement of Roman History trans. Rev. John Selby Watson.

Carausius Coins: http://time-lines.co.uk/carausius-coins-22963-0.html

During the first Punic War, Roman general, Regulus, and Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca, strategically fought a war that centered over obtaining territories. The First Punic War would result in the death of Regulus, who was taken prisoner by the Carthaginian army. They sent him back to Rome to promote a peace treaty, but instead, Regulus urged Rome to continue fighting. Eight years after the death of Regulus, Carthage finally had to sue for peace after Rome’s victory at The Battle of the Aegestas Islands. The terms of the surrender put Hamilcar Barca into a rage and he started plotting his revenge against Rome. Notably, he instilled his son, Hannibal, with a deep hate for the Roman Empire.

The Second Punic War began in 218 BC and would continue until 201 BC. The Carthaginian general, Hannibal Barca, son of Hamilcar Barca, was the main promoter of the Second Punic War. He possessed a hatred for Rome, instilled by his father, and was determined to take the Roman Empire. After gaining a position in Spain with the army of Carthage, Hannibal started plotting to invade Italy. Hannibal wanted to ally his army with the enemies of Rome and take over Italy. The Carthaginian government did not approve of his plan, yet Hannibal still pursued the war by attacking a Roman ally, the Saguntum, in Spain. At this point, Rome declared war on Carthage, and Hannibal was appointed general. Hannibal immediately put together a sizeable army and decided to cross the Alps. Hannibal would forever go down in history as the general who had crossed the Alps with his army and three dozen elephants.

Upon reaching Italy, the first battle was fought with Roman general, Scipio, leading the Roman army. Hannibal was able to easily defeat the Roman army in a few battles. At the time, the Romans used a system of two consuls for their army, Scipio and Sempronious. Unfortunately for Rome, Hannibal was able to lure both sections of the army into lethal traps at The Battle of Trebia, The Battle of Lake Transimene, and The Battle of Cannae. After being badly defeated in several battles, Rome appointed Fabius as dictator and was able to avoid the vicious attacks for a year. Hannibal frequently tried to turn Rome’s allies against them; however, none of the allies would budge.

When Fabius’ term as dictator was over, Rome once again put two consuls in charge of the army. These consuls formed numerous legions that tried to drive Hannibal out of Italy. Instead, the Romans lost around 60,000 soldiers and had 80 senators captured. The Second Punic War was the most devastating battle ever fought by Rome.

Source: (http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=wars&FileName=wars_punic.php)

Carthage was very prominent thanks to its navy, which was needed due to Carthage’s extensive trading. Carthage was the dominant naval power with some of the best naval technology. Rome, for example, had no chance of winning the war until they found a Carthaginian ship, ripped it apart, found out how it worked, and created replicas of it.

Rome later cited their hatred for Carthage being that Carthage sacrificed children and babies to their God, which is what the thousands of carved stone markers surrounding their villages are for. This story, however, could have merely been Roman propaganda because Carthage left no written records. It was not inevitable for Rome and Carthage to fight, for they both had control of different lands. Rome had Italy while Carthage had Africa and Sardinia. The island Sicily, the land between the two, allowed Roman traders and all was well, until the Greek city-states and Carthage competed over control of Sicily.

First, the Mamertines and Syracuse fought over Sicily until the Mamertines, feeling defeated and without hope, called on both Rome and Carthage to help. Carthage responded first, sending a small force to the citadel. A year later Rome responded, sending a force opposite Sicily under the command of Appius Claudius. The Mamertines, a group of pillaging mercenaries, allied with Rome and so Syracuse, led by Hiero, formed forces with Carthage, even though they were typically enemies.

The fighting took place primarily on the land of Sicily. In the early stages of the war, Rome created the corvus, an instant bridge between ships, similar to a ladder. They had to create this so they could use their land-battling techniques on battles in the water. Before the corvus, water battles tended to be ships running into each other and trying to out-maneuver one another. The corvus allowed Rome to gain an upper ground during fights on water by allowing them to board the Carthaginian ships.

The next two decades of fighting were confusing for the warring forces, especially since the Sicilian cities were prone to switching sides depending on who was the strongest force at the time. At one point Rome decided to invade Africa in the hopes of ending the war quickly. Marcus Atilius Regulus landed 15,000 troops south of Carthage. Rome lost this battle but had better success on water and on land in Sicily, where, in a the Battle of Agrigentum, Appius Claudis succeeded in getting his troops into the capital Messana, as well as driving Heiro’s camp and the Carthaginians out.

In 263 B.C. 40,000 troops came to Rome’s aid, successfully provoking Heiro to deflect sides in fear. In the Battle of the Aegates in 241 B.C., the Roman naval force cornered the Carthaginian fleet, who was unable to rebuild their dwindling troops. Hamilcar Barca, commander of the Carthaginian land forces, agreed resentfully to negotiate peace and evacuate Sicily. Rome won the war and Carthage was made to pay Rome all the war debt. Due to the debt they owed Rome, Carthage couldn’t pay their mercenaries hired during the war, which led to a civil war. All this resentment Carthage had for Rome resulted to the second Punic War.

This method was often used for coins that are a subunit of the standard currency, such as the aforementioned victoriatus and the United States half dollar. A half dollar minted within the past few decades for example weighs over 11g and is made up of approximately 92% copper and 8% nickel. This is a drastic change from a pre-1964 half dollar, which had a composition of 90% silver. This was reduced over the next few years to a mere 40% until 1971 when silver was no longer used for the United States half Dollar. With this example it can be seen that by increasing the amount of base metals used in coin production, the government can use less precious metals, effectively producing coins that are worth less than their face value. This both saves the government the costs of making pure silver coinage, and may also lead to inflation since they can produce more coins from a given amount of the precious metals.

The reasoning behind debasing a coin varies, but one of the most common cause is because of limited supplies of precious metals. For example the United States phased out silver coins due to the increasing prices of silver in the early 1960’s. It was seen as a necessary step as the bullion value of the coins would soon surpass the face value of the coins. For the Roman Republic, debasement of the victoriatus and other coins may have been done to increase the amount of coins that could be minted, but they may have had other reasons. It is known that during the time period that the victoriatus was being produced the Republic was facing economic failure. While the Republic continued to expand, countless farmers went bankrupt. The debasement of the coinage likely played a role in this, since it causes inflation, lessening the purchasing power of the coins that they relied upon.

In conclusion, the victoriatus and other debased coins of the time influenced the Roman Republic economically and historically. This coin also shares similarities with the United States half dollar, with both of them being a debased coin used as a subunit, specifically one half, of the standard currency.

The Fitzwilliam’s Department of Coins and Medals is one of the five main departments of the museum. It oversees a massive collection of almost 195,000 coins, tokens, bills, medals, and related items, ranging from ancient Greek coinage to modern credit cards. The department has also acquired an extensive library of works on numismatics over the years, including books and pamphlets, periodicals, auction catalogs, and the personal papers of prominent numismatists.

The collection includes over 25,000 Roman coins, covering every period of Rome’s history, some of which are discussed in greater depth below.

* One of the oldest coins in the Fitzwilliam’s Roman collection is a gold 60-asses coin dating circa 211 BC, showing the head of Mars on the obverse and an eagle grasping a thunderbolt on the reverse with the inscription ROMA. These coins were issued by the Roman Republic during an emergency caused by Hannibal’s siege of Rome. Cut off from the Spanish silver mines, the Republic was forced to issue new coins of gold to avoid a shortage of silver money.

* Another Republic coin from the Fitzwilliam’s collection is a 43 BC silver denarius by the moneyer Petillius Capitolinus. The obverse shows an eagle with a thunderbolt and Capitolinus’s name, while the reverse shows the front of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill — a play on Capitolinus’s name. The temple is flanked by the letters S F, indicating that Capitolinus was a member of the quindecimviri sacris faciundis, a fraternity that guarded the Sibylline Books and regulated worship of foreign gods.

* The Fitzwilliam holds several coins from the reign of the short-lived Emperor Gordian III (225-244), including a provincial coin minted in Pisidian Antioch in Turkey. The coin depicts the emperor’s head with laurel wreath and the inscription “IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG” on the obverse, while the reverse shows him driving a quadriga and wielding an eagle-tipped scepter, with the inscription “CAES ANTIOCH COL SR.”

* Another notable Imperial coin from the Fitzwilliam’s collection is a sestertius issued commemorating the consecration of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180), struck under his successor, Commodus. The obverse shows the emperor, bare-headed as he would be for the consecration ceremony, with the inscription “DIVVS M ANTONIVS PIVS”, while the reverse shows him being borne off by an eagle, waving farewell while carrying an eagle-headed scepter, along with the inscription “CONSECRATIO S C.”

Constantine was part of a tetrarchy, a Roman Empire divided into four parts, and was in charge of Britain, Gaul, and Spain. The Emperor was particularly disdainful of the people who lived outside the empire, known as barbarians or heathens, and spent much of his time fighting the Germanic tribes along the Rhine River. When Rome conquered the Germanic Alemanni tribe, Constantine had a coin minted that showed an image of his weeping enemy with the words, “Romans’ Rejoicing.” Coins in Rome were used as both currency and an early form of marketing and advertising; the coins were a way of promoting and promulgating one’s reputation and authority.

In 308, Constantine was demoted to Caesar but refused to accept the lesser title. Constantine continued to mint coins that portrayed him as Augustus (or Emperor), even as his detractors minted coins calling him Caesar. Constantine was able to retain the title of emperor even in the face of rebellion, and by 310, Constantine was again the Emperor of the Roman Empire.

In 312, Constantine and fellow Emperor Lucinius developed the Edict of Milan, which allowed Christians to worship openly and without persecution. This monumental shift in Roman policy also allowed for the return of Christian worship to places that had been previously banned. Previously, Christians were frequently the target of stoning, robbery, ridicule, and even murder — all because of their religious beliefs.

Constantine was known for his monetary reforms that helped to curb runaway inflation in the third century. By minting large quantities of gold coins, the solidus, Constantine was able to give the Roman Empire a more stable economy. To further his coin minting endeavor, The Emperor declared that all pagan statues were state property, and the statues were melted down to make new coins for Constantine’s Roman Empire.

In 313, Constantine minted a coin that showed himself in profile along with Sol Invictus, the Roman sun god. The imagery on this coin appealed to both the Roman worshippers of Apollo, as well as to Christians who found the monotheistic worshipers of the sun to be less offensive than traditional, pagan, pantheists. The minting of this particular coin also shows the shift from paganism to Christianity, as previously Constantine’s coins had shown his alliance with the Roman god of war, Mars.

Even after Constantine converted to Christianity, there were few coins minted with overt Christian symbols. The Chi-Rho symbol was sometimes included on coins as the Greek monogram of Jesus Christ. Until the end of Constantine’s rule, most of the coins remained, almost like early advertisements of the power and greatness of the Roman Empire, and of its leaders.

So while one could say that Constantine the Great turned the Roman Empire upside down, one could also say that he was a shrewd and progressive leader who changed his empire for the better.

From around 200 B.C. until about 250 A.D., Roman coins consisted primarily of the aureus, which was made from gold, and the denarius, a silver coin. Lower denominations included the sestertius and the dupondius, both struck from bronze, and the as, a copper coin. When Marc Antony became part of the second triumvirate in 43 B.C., sharing power with Octavianus and Lepidus, new coins were struck.

In most of his early coins, Antony was depicted as clean-shaven and bare-headed. Notable exceptions exist, such as a denarius struck in 42 B.C. which depicts a bearded Antony on the obverse and the goddess Fortuna, holding a cornucopia and a miniature goddess Victory, on the reverse. A different denarius, struck in Athens around 38 B.C., depicts a veiled Antony in the garb of a priest on the reverse.

Octavianus and Antony frequently came into conflict while attempting to rule together. In an attempt to strengthen the bonds between them, Octavianus arranged for Antony to marry his sister, Octavia. Coins were struck celebrating the marriage, featuring Antony on the obverse and Octavia on the reverse. During the eight years of their marriage, Antony conducted an affair with Cleopatra, and eventually abandoned his wife for the Egyptian queen. In 32 B.C., Octavianus declared war against Cleopatra and Antony. After suffering defeat, the two lovers committed suicide. During their time together, there were several joint coins struck, such as one struck around 36 B.C. in Syria that depicted a bearded Antony with a diadem and an image of Cleopatra with a scepter.

Antony managed to amass an army of 30 legions, consisting of approximately 160,000 men. To pay them, mints traveled with the armies. Coins struck to pay the legionnaires did not feature Antony’s image. Instead, they used a design featuring the Roman eagle flanked by standards on the reverse and a warship and Antony’s name on the obverse. Beneath the eagle was the number of the legion for which the coins were intended. Experts believe that most of Antony’s legions were paid in silver.

One particularly interesting Marc Antony coin was struck to commemorate his reconciliation with Octavianus around 40 B.C. The coin features a virile and mature image of Antony and a less manly, more boyish depiction of Octavianus.

Collectors of Roman coins should realize that they are not bullion coins, but instead may contain varying purity levels. In addition, although standards were established, in times of war or precious metal shortages, the weights of the coin could vary. For example, theoretically, a denarius should contain about 4.5 grams of silver, there were coins struck that only contained approximately 4 grams of silver. Many of the coins struck during Antony’s time were debased, either smaller and lighter than standard or with a higher concentration of alloys.

When you begin to clean your coins you should use a simple and easy first step: soap and water. This step will get a good bit of the loose dirt off, and should allow you to start making out the details of the coin. It is ideal to use your kitchen sink and a colander for this step, along with liquid soap and a good stiff brush, like a brass brush or firm toothbrush. Place the coins in the colander, cover with soap, and run warm water over them for a few minutes, allowing the water to dislodge much of the looser material. Then take each coin and using the brush coated with soap, give it a good scrub.

When your coins have been given a thorough initial scrub, they are ready to put into a soak. You have a couple of good options with this step, and it’s up to you which method you choose. You may use plain distilled water to soak the coins. This method takes patience, but is all natural. Or you can use a long-term soak product like Gringott’s #1, which has the added benefit of treating bronze disease. The choice is yours, but with either method you will need to allow the coins to soak from several days to a couple of weeks. Use a covered container, anything from a jar to a plastic bucket, but make sure that there is enough room for each coin to soak without touching others. Place the coins in the container and cover them with one to two inches of either the distilled water or Gringott’s #1. And wait.

After a couple of days, check on your coins. You should see loose particles of dirt floating around, and be able to scrape extra grime off the coins with your brush. Change the water or solution, then replace the coins and leave for another couple of days. Repeat this process until you’ve gotten all the results you think the soak can bring. At this point, you’re ready for more detailed scrubbing with a wider variety of tools.

Depending on the coin you’re cleaning, you might use softer toothbrushes, dental picks or cotton swabs. With each coin, do a hard scrub, then employ each of your other tools. Use dental picks and softer brushes for detail work and cotton swabs for grooves and ridges.

When you’ve finished this step, you should have clean coins ready to be dried. Drying is an extremely important step, and can be accomplished several ways. You can use a hairdryer, your oven, even a heat vent in your home. The most important thing is to make sure each coin is completely dried. When each coin is cleaned and dried, they are ready for display.

Choosing the proper storage container is very important to retaining the value of collectible coins. Storage containers are available for individual coins, groups of coins, or an entire collection. Place packets of silica gel in the chosen storage container to absorb moisture. Chose a storage place that maintains moderate to low temperature and low humidity to preserve and store coins for a long time.

Store coins in original mint holders, or use archival quality storage containers that may include 2”x2” cardboard/mylar holders, non-PVC clear holders, tubes, or archival storage books. Use plastic coin boxes for groups of coins or collections and store individual coins in holders or sleeves. Folders and albums are available for series and type sets. Use coin tubes and hard plastic holders for long-term storage. Collectors also have the option to invest in a reliable grading service that will “slab” or encapsulate the coins in hard plastic.

The best approach to holding a coin without damaging it is to hold it by the edges while refraining from touching the coin’s face. It is important to handle a coin with care to avoid scratching, polishing, or rubbing the surface of a coin. Use cotton gloves to avoid degrading the value of a coin from fingerprints and human hand oils. Establish a safe working surface and use clean hands to handle the coins by the edges to examine a coin more closely after removing it from its container.

To avoid devaluation of a coin, minimize cleaning the coin. Cleaned coins will lose value when compared with mint state, uncleaned coins. An experienced numismatist should clean the coins if it is necessary for conservation purposes or if the cleaning will increase the coin’s value and appeal.

Towards the development of trade, then, a comprehensive and precise accounting system was used in Roman trade. A Roman abacus, which used Roman numerals, worked well in tallying Roman measures and in counting Roman money. Counting boards were also utilized.

As with other things Roman, their units of measurement borrowed extensively from the Greeks, although Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Hebrew influences can be seen, as well.

One chalcus (called “chalcus” in Latin) was equivalent to 1/48th of a Drachm. This coin weighed about 71 milligrams.

One siliqua (“siliqua”) was equivalent to 1/18th of a Drachm, and weighed about 189 1/3 milligrams.

One obolus (“obolus”) was equivalent to 1/6th of a Drachm, and weighed about 0.568 grams.

One scruple (“scrupulum”) was worth 1/3 of a Drachm, and weighed about 1.136 grams.

One dram (“drachma”) weighed about 3.408 grams.

One shekel (“sicilicus”) was worth 2 Drachms, and weighed about 6.816 grams.

One ounce (“uncia”) was worth 8 Drachms, and weighed about 27.264 grams.

One pound (“libra”) was worth 96 Drachms, and weighed about 327.168 grams.

One mine (“mina”) was worth 128 Drachms, and weighed about 436.224 grams.

A “sescuncia” was the term the Romans used to call one and a half ounces.

Coins used through the majority of the Roman Republic and into the western half of the Roman Empire included the aureus, a gold coin; the denarius, a silver coin; the sestertius, a bronze coin; the dupondius, a bronze coin; and the as, which was a copper coin. These coins were in use for a span of some six hundred years.

Eventually, the denarius was replaced by the coin then called the double denarius, but now is usually referred to as the radiate or antoninianus. This coin was later replaced, in turn, by the creation of such denominations as the argenteus, a silver coin, and the follis, which was a silvered bronze coin. After this monetary reform by Diocletian, Roman coins mainly included the solidus, a gold coin, and small bronze coins in varying denominations.

Unlike the majority of modern coinage, Roman coins carried an intrinsic value; although they contained precious metals, they weren’t bullion. At the beginning of the Roman Empire, the value of a denarius was worth a day’s pay for a Roman Legionnaire.