DOI issue:
Artikuły / Articles
DOI article:Faucher, Thomas: Coin minting techniques in Ptolemaic Egypt: observe, analyze, recreate
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43282#0076
THOMAS FAUCHER
Blanks from single cavity molds
With the launch of series 02 at the beginning of the 3rd Century BC, the mint of
Alexandria started to strike larger coins like diobols or triobols, ones that weighed
20 g or morę. Subsequently, but not immediately, perhaps because it proved too
difficult to handle the production of large numbers of blanks using the first technique,
the coins started to look different. The surface was flatter than on the coins preceding
them, and the edges were beveled, making the surface of the obverse on these coins
slightly smaller than that of the reverse. With regard to the coins of this period, the
edges do not show any signs of runners or traces of scratches. These edges must
have resulted from the metal being poured into a mold carved out of individual
cavities with beveled edges.
Blanks from molds with multiple cavities
The far-reaching fiscal and monetary reforms that were enacted by Ptolemy II
were accompanied by the introduction of a new coinage introduced in c. 261 (series
03). While this coinage maintained the same repertoire of images, it now contained
coins that weighed up to 100 g. The technique used to produce the blanks for this
coinage is the same technique that was used with the previous set of coins, with two
exceptions. First, these coins have runners; at the very least, there are indications that
the runners were trimmed off. Secondly, these coins have two small cavities located
roughly at the center of each side of the coin. These characteristics correspond to
molds that have been found in Paphos and in other places around the Mediterranean,
most notably in Judea. The metal was poured into a limestone mold (or morę likely
- with regards to Egypt - into a mold madę from some other material) and then
flooded into the runners from cavity to cavity, filling up the mold with melted metal.
The blanks were then cut off from their chapelet before the runners were trimmed
off and carefully filed down.
- Molded coins
Early on in the Ptolemaic period (at the beginning of the 3rd Century),15 people
started to cast counterfeit coins. They used the lost-wax technique to mold official
coins, ones struck with a die. The coins produced in this way are usually of poorer
quality; the surface is smoother and the edges sometimes show traces of casting. If
these imitations were sporadic at the beginning of the period, by the lst Century BC,
they represent the majority of the coins in circulation. The fact that large quantities
of these coins have been found in excavations indicates that the poor quality of these
coins did not prevent the Egyptians from using them. Despite the fact that millions
PICARD and FAUCHER 2012: 27.
Blanks from single cavity molds
With the launch of series 02 at the beginning of the 3rd Century BC, the mint of
Alexandria started to strike larger coins like diobols or triobols, ones that weighed
20 g or morę. Subsequently, but not immediately, perhaps because it proved too
difficult to handle the production of large numbers of blanks using the first technique,
the coins started to look different. The surface was flatter than on the coins preceding
them, and the edges were beveled, making the surface of the obverse on these coins
slightly smaller than that of the reverse. With regard to the coins of this period, the
edges do not show any signs of runners or traces of scratches. These edges must
have resulted from the metal being poured into a mold carved out of individual
cavities with beveled edges.
Blanks from molds with multiple cavities
The far-reaching fiscal and monetary reforms that were enacted by Ptolemy II
were accompanied by the introduction of a new coinage introduced in c. 261 (series
03). While this coinage maintained the same repertoire of images, it now contained
coins that weighed up to 100 g. The technique used to produce the blanks for this
coinage is the same technique that was used with the previous set of coins, with two
exceptions. First, these coins have runners; at the very least, there are indications that
the runners were trimmed off. Secondly, these coins have two small cavities located
roughly at the center of each side of the coin. These characteristics correspond to
molds that have been found in Paphos and in other places around the Mediterranean,
most notably in Judea. The metal was poured into a limestone mold (or morę likely
- with regards to Egypt - into a mold madę from some other material) and then
flooded into the runners from cavity to cavity, filling up the mold with melted metal.
The blanks were then cut off from their chapelet before the runners were trimmed
off and carefully filed down.
- Molded coins
Early on in the Ptolemaic period (at the beginning of the 3rd Century),15 people
started to cast counterfeit coins. They used the lost-wax technique to mold official
coins, ones struck with a die. The coins produced in this way are usually of poorer
quality; the surface is smoother and the edges sometimes show traces of casting. If
these imitations were sporadic at the beginning of the period, by the lst Century BC,
they represent the majority of the coins in circulation. The fact that large quantities
of these coins have been found in excavations indicates that the poor quality of these
coins did not prevent the Egyptians from using them. Despite the fact that millions
PICARD and FAUCHER 2012: 27.