Search

Even at the beginning of his long and turbulent reign (978–1016), AEthelred II's coinage was an impressive institution. Mint-places across the kingdom issued silver pennies of identical design, each sporting an image of the king surrounded by his name and title while the reverse named both the man responsible for manufacture (the moneyer) and the location where he produced the coin. AEthelred and his subjects inherited this currency from Edgar (959–75) and Edward the Martyr (975–8), but were not content to rest on their laurels. Indeed, the reign of AEthelred saw the evolution of the most ambitious form of coinage yet seen in England. Nationwide recoinages became frequent for the first time since the ninth century, and the coinage emerged as a potent tool of symbolic expression. It probably also helped attract the attention of Viking aggressors, and facilitated the collection and transfer of tribute.

The Rhodian plinthophoroi dated to the beginning of the 1st century BC, were struck in considerable quantities because of the huge expenditure demanded, as the Rhodians were facing Mithridates’ danger. We may estimate the date of striking before the siege of the island by pontic forces to ca. 90 BC. The plinthophoric hemidrachms were adapted to the weight of Roman sestertii, given that this denomination had been introduced again in silver. It seems that the eventual financial difficulty of the Rhodian State was remedied by the support also of a part of inhabitants, not citizens (foreigners etc., members of associations or not). So the coinage needed was ensured according to epigraphic and numismatic evidence., Les monnaies rhodiennes plinthophores, du début du Ier siècle av. J.-C., ont été émises massivement pour faire face aux énormes dépenses des Rhodiens confrontés à la menace pontique. La date du siège de l’île par Mithridate permet de préciser que cette production doit se placer vers ca 90 av. J.-C. Les hémidrachmes plinthophores rhodiens ont la valeur des sesterces romains qui sont alors frappés de nouveau en argent. Lors de ces difficultés financières de Rhodes, certains habitants de l’île (non-citoyens, réunis ou non en associations) contribuèrent eux aussi, semble-t-il, à fournir l’argent monnayé, comme le suggèrent les documents épigraphiques et numismatiques., Apostólou Éva. Les plinthophores rhodiennes, les Romains et la première guerre mithridatique. In: Revue numismatique, 6e série - Tome 173, année 2016 pp. 123-138.

During the principate of Augustus Caesar, a series of 'asses' (RIC I2 Augustus 390–396) were minted bearing the image of Augustus on the obverse and Numa Pompilius on the reverse. Discussion of this coin in the context of Augustan ideology has been limited (Evans, 1985; Grant, 1953). Although one aspect of the coin’s message relates to the promotion of the moneyer’s family, a closer analysis of its iconographical and historical context provides important evidence for the early public image of Augustus, particularly in regard to religion. To that end, this article intends to establish the traditional use of kings in Republican coins and the development of religious iconography in early Augustan coinage. Examination of these asses can be divided into two groups of coins which were minted at different times, first in 22 BCE (RIC I2 Augustus 390–393) and then again in 12 BCE (RIC I2 Augustus 394–396).