Ancient Roman Coins During the Provincial Era

Roman Provincial or Greek Imperial is a less recognized and studied parallel series among Roman of coins. These coins were minted in the Roman Empire by civic authorities rather than by Imperial authorities and their minting traditions in hundreds of once-independent municipalities are conveyed in these ancient Roman Provincial coins. They possess the literal imprint of their Greek heritages and influences that came only with Roman rule and were a continuation of the original currency system that was around prior to the arrival or conquest by the Romans.

The Provincial Mints

Provincial mints issued the majority of the coins made of bronze although some ancient Roman Provincial coins were also minted in silver denominations. Rome controlled the issue of silver coinage and in regions of the Eastern Empire silver coins were more popular.

This power allows the Roman government to organize and influence events in the provinces. The mint-right could be given and removed by the Empire to exert political pressure on cities and provinces. Imperial portraits were also sometimes omitted for those places regarded with certain favor. Newly established colonies were usually only given an authority to mint bronze coins.

During the Roman Imperial Era there were an estimated 600 provincial mints. Mints were concentrated in the Eastern part of the Empire, though they were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. Provincial cities such as Corinth or Antioch had mints within their perimeter. There were mints that solely issued the ancient Roman coins were only used for that city, while some mints issued coins for a larger province.

Coin Inscriptions

A Greek Language of the inscription determines if a coin is an Ancient Roman Provincial coin. Small depressions or dimples are found in the middle of the obverse and reverse side of these coins. The depressions are a sign of a poorly understood process of preparing the blanks for striking. Perhaps both trimming off flashings from the edges, and smoothing the surfaces.

Mints in places like Egypt and the Middle East cast the blanks in a way that makes them larger on one the reverse, than the obverse. A conical section or trapezoidal cross-section is distinguishably seen in these coins.

These are coins are much more different in style and larger or smaller than the standard Imperial denominations. Ancient Roman Provincial coins are devoid of the "S C" sign in their reverse side and the GreekObulos and Chalkous are the most notable denominations of bronze coins.

Some believed that particular ancient Roman Provincial coins were designed according to Roman denominations namely, AE and sestertius. These ancient Roman coins prove to be a rare collector’s item that conveys the rich history and culture of the past.