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#0077
COIN MINTING TECHNIQUES...
of coins were produced in this way, the only evidence as to how these coins were
produced is a mold in clay that has been found in the Egyptian Delta, in Tanis.16
The phenomenon of cast imitations was largely underestimated in the past due to
the fact that, first of all, museums were not choosing (or considering) these coins
for their collection because of their poor quality, and secondly, their poor state of
preservation led archaeologists to avoid cleaning them or even registering them to
begin with.
ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION
Another way to look at a coin is to analyze its metallic content.17 This approach
offers a way of understanding how the moneyers used the available resources and
why they used certain amounts of metal in respect to others. It is the mint that decided
whether a certain alloy would be used; this decision may have been affected by
the opinion of the head of the mint, an artisan specialized in metalworking. While
the value of a coin predominantly consisted in the amount of the coin’s main metal
(gold or silver), things were different for copper alloys - known as fiduciary coins
- wherein the value of each metal did not influence the face value of the coin. And
yet, the amount of each metal used to make a coin was very important indeed for the
moneyers, for the metal content affected the ductility of the blank and its hardness.
The metal content influenced the ease with which the coin was struck; it also affected
the amount of stress that the dies would experience during striking and, ultimately,
their lifetime. In addition, the metallic composition affected the melting temperaturę
of the metal, which thus had an influence on the amount of fuel that would need to
be used. For example, while copper melts at 1083° C, a copper alloy consisting of
20% tin (which results in bronze) has a melting point of c. 900° C.18
Therefore, information about the coin’s metallic composition is absolutely
essential in order to understand the minting process. Ancient Egypt represents an
ideal case with regards to this question since coins from most of the series (for gold,
silver, and bronze) have been analyzed for the Persian and Ptolemaic periods19 (bilion
coins of the Roman period have also been studied extensively20).
Analyses of Ptolemaic gold coins have shown that the authorities never really
altered their content, most of them being close to 100% gold.21 From a metallurgical
16 JUNGFLEISCH and SCHWARTZ 1955: 214-215.
17 Here is not the place to describe the relevance of each method of analysis. For recent sources providing more
information about these methods of analysis, see: BLET-LEMARQUAND et AL 2014; BLET-LEMARQUAND
et AL 2005; and PONTING 2012.
18 PICON 1966, as cited in: BLET LEMARQUAND 2013.
19 A synthesis of recent results and bibliography is to be published in: OLIVIER and FAUCHER, forthcoming.
20 See Chapter 20, “Egypt”, in: BUTCHER and PONTING 2014: 604-664.
21 DUYRAT and OLIVIER 2010.
of coins were produced in this way, the only evidence as to how these coins were
produced is a mold in clay that has been found in the Egyptian Delta, in Tanis.16
The phenomenon of cast imitations was largely underestimated in the past due to
the fact that, first of all, museums were not choosing (or considering) these coins
for their collection because of their poor quality, and secondly, their poor state of
preservation led archaeologists to avoid cleaning them or even registering them to
begin with.
ELEMENTAL COMPOSITION
Another way to look at a coin is to analyze its metallic content.17 This approach
offers a way of understanding how the moneyers used the available resources and
why they used certain amounts of metal in respect to others. It is the mint that decided
whether a certain alloy would be used; this decision may have been affected by
the opinion of the head of the mint, an artisan specialized in metalworking. While
the value of a coin predominantly consisted in the amount of the coin’s main metal
(gold or silver), things were different for copper alloys - known as fiduciary coins
- wherein the value of each metal did not influence the face value of the coin. And
yet, the amount of each metal used to make a coin was very important indeed for the
moneyers, for the metal content affected the ductility of the blank and its hardness.
The metal content influenced the ease with which the coin was struck; it also affected
the amount of stress that the dies would experience during striking and, ultimately,
their lifetime. In addition, the metallic composition affected the melting temperaturę
of the metal, which thus had an influence on the amount of fuel that would need to
be used. For example, while copper melts at 1083° C, a copper alloy consisting of
20% tin (which results in bronze) has a melting point of c. 900° C.18
Therefore, information about the coin’s metallic composition is absolutely
essential in order to understand the minting process. Ancient Egypt represents an
ideal case with regards to this question since coins from most of the series (for gold,
silver, and bronze) have been analyzed for the Persian and Ptolemaic periods19 (bilion
coins of the Roman period have also been studied extensively20).
Analyses of Ptolemaic gold coins have shown that the authorities never really
altered their content, most of them being close to 100% gold.21 From a metallurgical
16 JUNGFLEISCH and SCHWARTZ 1955: 214-215.
17 Here is not the place to describe the relevance of each method of analysis. For recent sources providing more
information about these methods of analysis, see: BLET-LEMARQUAND et AL 2014; BLET-LEMARQUAND
et AL 2005; and PONTING 2012.
18 PICON 1966, as cited in: BLET LEMARQUAND 2013.
19 A synthesis of recent results and bibliography is to be published in: OLIVIER and FAUCHER, forthcoming.
20 See Chapter 20, “Egypt”, in: BUTCHER and PONTING 2014: 604-664.
21 DUYRAT and OLIVIER 2010.