The ABC of Roman Coins
A Beginner's Guide to Identify, Date and Collect Ancient Roman Coins, with Weights, Mints and How to Spot Fakes
Marco J. RowenPart of Beginner The Roman Coinage Series
Free for readers: The Main Roman Denominations: One-Page Cheat Sheet →
Found a Roman coin and wondering what you are holding? The ABC of Roman Coins is a friendly beginner's guide to identifying, dating, and collecting ancient Roman coins. It covers the alphabet of Roman coinage in 26 short lessons, from the Aureus to Zenobia. No Latin and no prior knowledge needed. Each five-minute lesson answers one practical question in plain English and ends with an "In 30 seconds" box of three key points and a "Did you know?" fact, followed by a short essay on the world behind the coins: temples, hoards, shipwrecks and marketplaces. What you will learn: - How to tell a denarius from a sestertius, an as, a dupondius and an antoninianus - How to read an emperor's name, titles and legends, and decode abbreviations - How weights, metals and values work, from the Republic to the late Empire - Where Roman mints were, what mint marks mean, and how to date a coin - What reverse designs say: gods, victories, buildings and political messages - How to judge a coin's condition, and why you should never clean one - What Roman coins cost, where to buy them, and how to make a confident first purchase - How to spot fakes and avoid common beginner mistakes Inside the book: - 26 lessons, A to Z, each with a full-page historical photograph - Quick-reference pages with denominations, weights, metals and mints - Maps and a timeline of Roman coinage - A fakes checklist, a glossary and a guide to coin abbreviations - Pages to log your own coins as your collection grows - A QR code to download a free one-page cheat sheet of the main Roman denominations Whether you inherited a few old coins, found one in the garden or simply love ancient Rome, this guide gives you the vocabulary and the confidence to read your coin. 6 x 9 inch paperback, black-and-white interior. After this beginner's guide, explore the other books by Marco J. Rowen in The Roman Coinage Series and The Coins of the Ancient World.
