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SerratedHaving
notched or toothed edge. The predominant "serrati numi" types are
Seleucid Kingdom bronzes and denarii of the Roman Republic. The fabric
of the two types is quite different. The Seleucid bronze flans appear to
have been open cast in wells shaped like an old-fashioned bottle cap.
The purpose of the serrated edge appears to have been purely decorative.
The Roman Republic denarii appear to have been cast as regular flans
and then notches were cut into the edge before striking. The Roman
effort appears to have been an anti-counterfeiting measure; showing the
inside of the coin. This effort was, however, not completely successful
as silver plated with copper core denarii serrati are known.FORVM's Seleucid Serrate Bronze Quick Attribution Tool
Ruler,
reign
Obverse (right unless indicated)
Reverse
Spaer pg
SGCV II
HGC 9
SC II
Seleukos
IV, 187 - 175 BC
Apollo long hair, laureate &
diad
Apollo leaning on tripod,
examining arrow (AE21-24)
122
6968
584
1315
Seleukos
IV, 187 - 75 BC
Dionysos w/ivy
Prow left
126
6970
586
1316/1321
Seleukos
IV, 187 - 175 BC
Artemis w/quiver
Artemis standing, torch in left,
stag right
128
6971
591
1317
Seleukos
IV, 187 - 175 BC
Veiled female (Laodike IV)
Elephant head left, ΣΕΛΥΕΚΟΥ
below
128
6972
592
1318/1332
Antiochus
IV, 175 - c. 165 BC
Veiled female (Laodike IV)
Elephant head left over prow
left, ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ below
138
686
1477
Antiochus
IV, 175 - c. 165 BC
Apollo diad, control mark l
Apollo std l on omphalos, arrow
in r, left on bow, apluster l
146
725
1478
Antiochus
IV, 175 - c. 165 BC
Antiochus rad & diad, fillet
border
Veiled & draped goddess
(Hera?), long torch or scepter in r
156
6994
726
1479
Demetrius
I, 162 - 150 BC
Apollo
Tripod (AE24-27)
180
7026
821
1644/1648
Demetrius
I, 162 - 150 BC
Artemis w/quiver
Bow and quiver
180
7027
826
1645
Demetrius
I, 162 - 150 BC
Horse head left
Elephant head right
180
7028
833
1646
Demetrius
I, 162 - 150 BC
Artemis w/quiver
Apollo standing left, arrow in
r, left on grounded bow
180
852
1647
Alexander
I, 150 - 145 BC
Alexander diad
Zeus enthroned left, Nike in r,
long scepter in l
198
7043
909
1818
Alexander
I, 150 - 145 BC
Alexander diad
Athena standing left, Nike in r,
left on grounded shield
198
900
1793
Alexander
I, 150 - 145 BC
Alexander diad
Prow left
198
925
1814
Alexander
I, 150 - 145 BC
Alexander diad
Tripod (AE16-19)
198
926
1819
Alexander
I, 150 - 145 BC
Alexander diad
Apollo seated l on omphalos,
arrow in r, left on bow
200
907
1816
Alexander
I, 150 - 145 BC
Alexander diad
Owl standing facing
202
7045
920
1794
Demetrius
II, 145 - 138 BC
Demetrius diad, youthful
Demeter veiled & draped,
long torch in r
235
7069
Antiochus
VI, 144 - c. 142 BC
Antiochus diad & rad
Elephant left (AE19-24)
240
7081
1043
2006
Antiochus
VI, 144 - c. 142 BC
Antiochus diad & rad
Apollo leaning on tripod,
examining arrow
240
7082
1046
2023
Antiochus
VI, 144 - c. 142 BC
Antiochus diad & rad
Panther walking left, palm
in mouth, right fore-paw raised
240
7083
1048
2007
Antiochus
VI, 144 - c. 142 BC
Antiochus diad & rad
Nike walking l, wreath raised in
r, palm in left
240
7084
1052
2024
Antiochus
VI, 144 - c. 142 BC
Antiochus diad & rad
Horse walking l, right foreleg
raised
242
1054
2025
Alexander
II, 128 -123 BC
Dionysos w/ivy
Tyche standing left, rudder in
r, cornucopia in l
312
7133
1166
2242
Alexander
II, 128 -123 BC
Elephant head
Eagle l, wings open
318
1178
2243
Serrati Republican Denarii ©by Alexandru MarianThose
of you who are familiar with the republican coinage, surely know a
particular type, called "serrati." Since I saw my first serrati, I have
been fascinated by them, wondering the purpose of the serration and what
manufacturing process was used to create them. After discovering the
internet, and upon the acquisition of my first serrati, I started
looking for information about them. The questions I wanted to answer
were: Why were they made? And how were they made? Despite my
efforts, I did not find a satisfactory answers. A few lines here and
there, only stating that it is not known how they were made of if they
had a special purpose. It was implied that the flans were probably cut
with a chisel, before striking. Since I am a "technical guy", I
said, "let's give it a try." I carefully examined the cuts on a sample
of serrati. It was immediately clear the cuts were made before striking.
What struck me is, the cuts were not perpendicular to the coin surface,
but they fell from right (on the bottom) to left (on the top), like
this: \\ \\ \\ \\ \\ \\ \\ \\ \\ Now let's have a look at the edge of an actual coin. All the images below can be enlarged by clicking on them. I
will refer to the angle between each serrati cut and perpendicular to
the coin's surface as the alpha angle. The alpha angle is present on
every serrati coin I have studied. With only one exception, each coin
had the cuts falling from right to left as in the image above. On the
single exception, the cuts were also angled, but fell in the opposite
direction. Speculating on the cause for of the alpha angle and
the single variation from the normal right to left angle, I developed my
hypothesis. The cuts were made by striking the flan on the edge with a
sharp tool, most likely a chisel in a form similar to a butcher's
cleaver. One hand held the cutting tool and the other hand held the flan
with pliers and rotated the flan by rolling it on a surface. If the
flan was held in comfortable natural way, in front of the body, the
normal arm movement would create cuts with the alpha angle. The right to
left alpha angles would result from cutting by men holding the cutting
tool in the right hand. Since most men are right handed, this explains
why most serrati have a right to left alpha angle. The single reversed
alpha angle observed would be the result of a left handed worker holding
the cutting tool in the left hand. The diagram below illustrates my
hypothesis. I
was determined to test my hypothesis. First, I made an iron tool
resembling the tool above. Then I took a modern silver coin, of the same
thickness as a republican denarius and copied the process. The image
below shows the result after cutting.The
next step was to imitate the die strike process. I placed the coin on
an iron surface and smashed it with a hammer. You can see the results
after striking in the images below: My
test coin serrati features are almost identical to Roman serrati
denarii. Since I am right handed, the alpha angle is from left to right.
The cuts are somewhat narrower than on the ancient coins, apparently
because my cutting tool was thinner than those used by the Roman mints.
My test results provide convincing evidence to support my hypothesis. |Dictionary of Roman| Coins|Please add updates or make corrections to the NumisWiki text version as appropriate.Serrati
Nummi.--Coins are thus called which have their edges regularly notched
round like the teeth of a saw. These serrated or denticulated; medals
are common amongst the products of the consular mint up to the time of
Augustus, after which scarcely one is to be found.Thus
specimens of this ancient practice are seen on the coins of Antonia,
Aquilia, Claudia, Cornelia, Domitia, Mamilia, Maria, Memmia, Papia,
Porcia, Postumia, Procilia, Roscia, Sulpicia, and other moneyers. It
was a precaution adopted, as Pinkerton observes, by incision; to
prevent forgery, by showing the insides of the coin. "But," adds this
scientific numismatist, "the old forgers also imitated this; and I have a
serrated consular coin, of which the incisions, like the rest are
plated with silver over copper."--From a brief passage in Tacitus (l.v.
De Mor. Germ.), it would seem that the Germans had a partiality for this
class of Roman money--"Pecuniam probant veterem et diu notam, serratos,
bigatosque."The brass coins of the Syrian kings (such as the
Seleucidae) also exhibit the same peculiarity; but this probably was
done to them as an ornamental feature, and the metal was cast in that
shape before they were struck.View whole page from the |Dictionary Of Roman Coins|
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