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Need help identifying supposedly roman coin



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 24th 03, 05:24 PM
david
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Default Need help identifying supposedly roman coin

Hi!

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.

The letters are surounded by a kind of a ring or wreath.

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

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  #2  
Old December 24th 03, 05:54 PM
Brad
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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
  #3  
Old December 24th 03, 06:46 PM
david
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Default

Thanks for the reply!

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.


Is MVLT really MULT? (I remember seeing roman inscriptions with a V
where there should've been a U, like FORVM, guessing the letter U hadn't
been invented in roman times?) Is it an acronym or does it literally
mean "maybe"?

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.

So it refers to the vows the emperor took when he was sworn in? So if it
says "VOT p MVLT q" it means that the emperor had been in office for p
years when the coin was issued and hoped to be in office a total of q
years before he died/resigned/was killed?
So "vows takes for ..." is basically the same as the issue date on
modern coins? And the "and maybe for ..." is a guarantee that the coin
will be valid for at least a certain number of years, provided the
emperor stays in place?

Regards,
David

  #4  
Old December 24th 03, 06:53 PM
Brad
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Default

Thanks for the reply!

You're welcome.

Is MVLT really MULT?


No. It's MVLT.

Is it an acronym or does it literally mean "maybe"?


I'm not sure of the exact translation.

So it refers to the vows the emperor took when he was sworn in? So if it
says "VOT p MVLT q" it means that the emperor had been in office for p
years when the coin was issued and hoped to be in office a total of q
years before he died/resigned/was killed?


As I said, I'm not sure of exactly how it relates to the date
of issue. I don't think you can assume there is an exact
correlation, but I'd search around on some of the web sites
I point to on my web page and you might find out more.

So "vows takes for ..." is basically the same as the issue date on
modern coins?


See above.

And the "and maybe for ..." is a guarantee that the coin
will be valid for at least a certain number of years, provided the
emperor stays in place?


I don't think it had anything to do with validity of the coin.
Since later Roman coins were not countermarked, I believe they
said valid through successive emperor's reigns, as long as the
area was still under Roman control. But the denominations changed
at various times, which could have led to hoarding and / or
melting. But that's a separate issue.

Regards,
David


Brad
http://www.blarg.net/~brad/coins.htm
  #5  
Old December 24th 03, 07:41 PM
david
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Default

Thanks!

  #6  
Old January 2nd 04, 09:15 PM
Joe Baran
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Default

The best place I've found for IDing coins is www.wildwinds.com
After entering the site there is a Partial Inscription Search, type in
what you can see and it will list a bunch of coins. By the way, are
there any letters under the wreath? They are the mint mark of the
coin and can help with ID. Or email me a scan of the coin at
and I will take a look at it for you.

Joe

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 16:54:08 -0000, Brad
wrote:

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


 




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