david wrote:

I found a coin in a drawer which my dad claims is roman, a claim I'd
like to verify. It's in pretty bad shape so you can't make out any
figures or anything but on one side you can clearly see the letters:
VOT
XXX
NVLT
X X

* I'm not sure about the middle X on the second line, it might just be "X X"

* On the coin the N on the third line is mirrored, like a child might
write it. The blank space between the N and V is also quite large so
there be something missing there.

If authentic, this is definitely a Roman Imperial coin, probably from
the 4th century. The third line is MVLT. What looks like a backwards
N is (or should be) an M that might be crowded a bit.

VOT means vows and these common inscriptions roughly mean
"vows taken for ... years, and maybe for ... years" so the
second number must be larger than the first. Probably XX
and XXX, or XXX and XXXX.

Is it possible to decude anything from this information, like when it
was made, who made it, and where? What do the letters stand for?

Regards,
David

There weren't that many later emperors that lasted 20 years
(though I'm not sure if, by saying they are taking vows for
20 years how many they would already have served), so that
limits the number of emperors it could be. To find out,
you'll have to either recognize the portrait on the obverse,
or determine the inscription there. If you can read any of
it, post it. Might have "CONSTAN" in the middle, placing it
as from Constantine the Great or one of his sons. Other
possibilities off the top of my head are THEODOSIVS or VALENS.

See http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/rcoins/sub2/art13a.htm
for a little more about inscriptions from this period.

Hope that helps,
Brad
http://www.blarg.net/~brad/coins.htm