their issue of bronze; pretending that the Colonial coins were lighter than those of Rome, and hence their circulation was limited to the territories of the Colonies, whilst the Roman money was accepted throughout all the dominions of the Republic.

The Colonial mints in the West were closed at the beginning of the Empire. In Sicily the issue was closed under Augustus, in

Fig. 82.

Italic libral As with the head of Mercury.
T

Africa and Numidia under Liberius, in Spain under Caligula, in
Gaul soon after Nero's reign.

On the other hand, in the East the Colonial mints continued to issue money up to the reign of Aurelian..

The language used in the legends was generally Latin with a very few exceptions, in which cases Greek was employed.

304. CITY AND PROVINCIAL COINS. While conquering the world, Rome earnestly desired to introduce its own coinage everywhere, but in this reform as in all others, with her usual political skill, she quietly and wisely proceeded so as to avoid offending the different susceptibilities and always knew how to attain her own end, using the means most suitable to the different centres over which she exercised her influence.

Among the barbarian or semibarbarian countries of the West, whenever it was not necessary to use extreme measures, Rome introduced her own coinage to the exclusion of others, by putting out of circulation that of the locality.

In the East, however, where the Roman civilization was gradually becoming predominant over another which had been established for ages, Rome acted with greater circumspection, apparently at least, and thus with wise policy left all the appearances of liberty to the people honoured by her with the title of allies, or to those protected by her, but holding them in reality dependent as subjected people. In these cases she did not dare to abolish the existing coinage too precipitately, but cleverly applied in these cases a war of tariff which sooner or later brought about the wished-for result. While allowing the old coinage to continue in circulation within its circumscribed bounds, they at the same time introduced the Roman denarius with a legal relation so unfavourable to the ancient coinage that it was gradually forced to disappear, being consigned to the crucible, thus leaving the field free to the powerful invader.

305. The City Coinage was always issued by permission of the State, (often bearing the legend P.P.D.D. Permissu Proconsulis Decurionum Decreto), it was always limited to silver and bronze, and generally consisted of bronze rather than silver. The coinage of Gold was absolutely reserved to the Roman Mint as an Imperial privilege.

The permission to issue silver was gradually limited, and made difficult to acquire, but the issues of bronze were on the other hand very abundant, perhaps, because the Romans thus found means to humour the patriotism of the different cities without incurring any economical or political danger, or perhaps because it might have proved inconvenient to provide bronze by means of the mints at Rome and Antioch under the Senate for circulation throughout.

In fact it is for these reasons that we possess the immense series of the Imperial Greek bronze coins, which, however, is thus rather inaccurately named, simply because the coins bear the portraits of the Emperors, and the legends in the Greek language, seeing that they constitute an essentially civic or municipal series.

When the liberty of coining was given, the different cities issued their coinage on their own account, and inscribed thereon their name in the genitive case, signifying their own property, whilst the name of the Emperor figured on the coins in the nominative, or the accusative case, as a title of honour, or, sometimes in the Dative case, as if in dedication to them.

For these reasons this series should be arranged according to the order of the cities from which they were issued rather than according to the names of the Emperors, and should be named Civic or Municipal coins, rather than according to the common usage Imperial Greek coinage.

306. The very numerous and abundant series of Civic coins (in bronze) was issued up to the reign of Gordianus Pius (238-244 A.D.); after which time it becomes scarce, and then ceased entirely during the reign of Aurelian (270-275 A.D.) if we make an exception of the mint in Alexandria which closed only under the reign of Diocletian (284-305 A.D.).

307. The continual deterioration of the fabric of the coins of the Roman mint no longer permitted the provincial mints to obtain any profit from their coinage, and therefore they were obliged to cease coining. And if the mint of Alexandria was allowed to continue working rather longer than the others it was owing alto

gether to the fact of their having known how to follow the deteriorating movement of the Roman Mint in the decline of the value of the metal.

308. All that has been said so far applies to the cities of the East, for in the West, the Civic coinage lasted but a very little time beyond the period of the Republic.

In the provinces of Spain, Gaul and Africa, special mints were created, which issued bronze coinage, and sometimes, exceptionally, silver; but always of the same standard as the Roman, although adopting in some cases the language of the locality.

CHAPTER XXXVII

THE TESSERE

309. In the Roman series, we have, besides the true coins, certain small bronze medallions which possess some characteristics excluding them from the series of true coins, but their use and object not having yet been well defined, they are added to this series. Their dimensions may be described as between the middle and small bronze, and judging from their style and fabric they must have been issued during the early years of the Empire.

310. The greater number of these bear on the one side (which we will call the Obverse), the head of one of the early Emperors

or of a member of the Imperial family, and more rarely some other portrait, and on the Reverse in the midst of a circle, a number, (which however is very exceptionally higher than XVI), and sometimes also the letters AVG. The portraits found on these pieces are those of Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Caligula and Nero.

These tessera were certainly struck during the reigns of the Emperors represented thereon, or very shortly after.

There are also other tessera which bear instead of an Imperial portrait, a representation of some mythological, historical, or allegorical subject; and others called sphintria, or spinthria, bearing on the

Obverse a licentious design, and on the other side a number which is generally from I to XVI.

311. What may have been the use of the tesseræ, which different numismatists have felt obliged to classify in various ways, is still a question much discussed.

It is generally considered that they served as tickets of admission to the various games or shows, and the numbers represented on the pieces being so small are thought to indicate the seats or places in which the spectator was placed.

According to my opinion I confess that such an explanation appears not very satisfactory, and I should be inclined rather to consider them as game-counters for the reasons which I shall presently give in dealing with the Contorniates.

312. A separate series is also formed with the tessere made of lead, very varied examples of which exist of all dates, but possessing little interest, the rough types found upon them being very difficult to decipher.

In fact these are probably the only pieces to which the name tessera should be properly applied, if by tessere we understand a counter representing money, they are the only pieces we should have the right to give a place, however secondary, in a Manual of Numismatics.

The former have been treated of according to custom; remember however that in all treatises they are considered as false coins; but practically I should wish to exclude them from purely numismatic treatises.

There are leaden tessere of all shapes (square, round, oblong, triangular, &c.) and of most varied dimensions. For the most part they bear a number or some letters on the one side and a rough design on the other, as a human figure, an animal, a branch, a flower, and so forth.

CHAPTER XXXVIII

CONTORNIATES

313. The name Contorniate is given to certain pieces which present some distant likeness to Medallions, so that by some collectors they are called contorniate medallions; but they possess certain characteristics which distinguish them completely from the medallions, and also from all other coins, and which indicate how different their use was to that of the coins.