The crisis of small change in Central Italy of the second and first centuries BC, and the function of overstriking
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Clive Stannard [1]
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[1] University of Leicester
University of Leicester
GB.ENG.H4.31UC, Reino Unido
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- Localización: Revue belge de numismatique et de sigillographie, ISSN 0774-5885, Nº. 164, 2018, págs. 108-182
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
West-central Italy suffered from an acute insufficiency of small change, from the mid-second century BC to the Principate. This resulted from the rapid growth of market activity, with Rome and its allies’ military successes, and the wealth that flowed into Italy. The Roman silver coin stock grew enormously between c.150 and the 80s BC, but the bronze coin stock stagnated. Roman small change did not reach southern Latium and Campania in adequate quantities, and probably did not suffice for Rome itself. Remedies, adopted separately in different places, included the importation of blocks of foreign coin, pseudo-mints, and informal coinages, and the pragmatic use of foreign and old coins. There were various episodes of overstriking, which are analysed in order to tease out the reasons for overstriking
