It provides us with insight about their available resources and even the materials' value in their eyes. With the knowledge of the material of the coin, we can learn a lot about Roman history. Studying coins is not just studying what is on the coin, but it is also studying what the coin is made out of. For this reason, it is very common to see the dating of a coin to be the years that the emperor, who is on the coin, was in power we can see this in Coin 055 from the Burkhart Collection. If we can understand who the individual on the coin is, after identification from the inscriptions, we can get an idea of when this coin might be dated form, based on the historical context. Analyzing coins is such a key part in dating coins. Without being able to go from the Latin abbreviation to the translation, it is very difficult to be able to understand it, and, thus, it would be harder to be able to learn about the visuals on the coin. Studying coins allows us to understand inscriptions on coins, acting like captions to the images on them. Numismatics and the study of coins are very important because it gives insight to not only to specific coins but also history. The non-bloodline emperors used it as a way for them to show their connection to the throne, no matter how they became emperor. It was used primarily during the early empire, but it later became used by all emperors, including those who are not in Caesar's bloodline. The inclusion of the abbreviation 'C' was originally referring to Caesar, their Emperor at the time - Augustus Caesar (Collective database- 2017). Prior to diving into legends and the importance of being able to translate the abbreviations, it is useful to explain the abbreviation 'C' to avoid confusion because it may not mean what you think. Studying coins, more specifically Roman Coins, broadens the ability to analyze and understand the significance of individual coins, as a result of being able to translate these abbreviations and their meanings. One key of advice is that most of the names mentioned in the inscriptions end in “VS,” however, for women, it will most likely end in “A” (The British Museum- 2003). Not only are they typically written in Latin, but they are also abbreviations of Latin words and people. Legends are the written inscriptions on a coin that refers to relevent information about the coin however, it is very challenging for most people to be able to understand what is inscribed. Looking at coins without portraits, they were typically to show respect to a family member or the founding of a new city. The inclusion of crowns, which you will see in some of the coins on this page, was used as a way to show recognition from battle. The portraits do not only show the present emperor but they also show his authority. Looking at inscriptions, coins that display a portrait are typically show a visual of the emperor so that he gets widespread recognition, while not specifically realistic (Collective database- 2017). The understanding and use of legends allow us to be able to broaden our knowledge and interpretations of coins. Most people don’t completely understand the meaning and intentions of the two faces of coins, especially Roman coins, but through the study of coins, one can identify that there are intentional differences between the two. They offer an assorted variety of images and inscriptions to represent a specific person or significance. Obverse and reverse signify the two flat sides of a coin, also seen with paper money.

For the coinage, the extensive assortment of types of reverses, the “back” of the coin, and portraiture give an irreplaceable body of the material. There were such a variety of materials for coinage: gold, bronze, silver, copper, and brass.

Eventually, gold coins became less rare while bronze coins became more rare. For the Republic and Empire, the standard coin was a denarius. In 217 B.C., silver denarius became known, which ultimately led to the creation of the Roman coinage system. Soon after, two coinage systems were created: “Aes Grave,” a bronze cast that is built on the Roman weight methods, and a silver coinage that was based on the Greek methods. They were introduced to silver coinage when Rome expanded in the Italian peninsula. The beginning of their coinage started when Rome expanded in the Italian peninsula. They then shifted into using “Aes Signatum,” which were rectangular-shaped bars. They used “Aes Rude” as money, which was jagged pieces of bronze with no precise measurement in weight or shape. Before the third century B.C., Romans did not have their own coinage.

Roman coins caesar