ARTIFACTS OF EMPIRE PART 1

Let us be honest from the very start, another book on Roman coins and numismatics, how yesterday? Well, if you are only interested in hoping to make a profit from buying and selling Roman coins then, perhaps, understanding what the coins really are and the history behind those who issued them is not for you.

 

The fundamental study of numismatics (coins) has passed many collectors by. There seems to be a notion that it is too difficult because the study is isolated and insular. Ruled by a seemingly untouchable elite, any “in” knowledge was kept a closely guarded secret. Even the simple knowledge of what was inscribed on the coins was lost to history. For coins minted in many regions, the portrait of the coin issuer was boldly inscribed. For those who ruled for long periods of time, we could witness the changes in the portrait.

 

But what of the inscriptions around the coin? What of what was on the reverse of the coin? Why was it done and what did it all mean? And for collectors with a real passion, what did all those letters actually mean and how did it fit into history?

 

Then, two years ago in a chance online meeting, the author made contact with Arthur Needham. Needham, a Visiting Fellow (Postgraduate), was working with his research partner, Mohammed Tariq Ansari, on the coins of the Indian subcontinent, and they were heavily researching the use of coinage along both the maritime and land Silk Road. With many of the coins not having any portraits to represent the ruler and inscriptions in difficult languages, the idea by Tariq to develop an overlay system to show what the inscriptions actually meant was further developed, and a fully color-coded system was created. This made understanding inscriptions much easier.

 

However, there is much more to a simple coin than the portrait and the inscription. Woven behind every coin issue is a story of power, intrigue, and often notoriety. And what was on each side of the coin represented the picture of the domain the coin issuer wished to show. What if we could have a series of works that not only showed what was inscribed on the coins in a manner that could finally be understood by all, but also included a concise and highly researched history of the issuer of the coin and the dynasty?

 

The author has succeeded in this difficult question. Each volume of the series will consist of three parts.

 

First Part

 

Here, each coin chosen for the volume will have a separate module to discuss the coin and the history behind the issuer. This is divided into two sections. The first section is for the coin collector who is interested in learning about the coin, and a full description of the coin itself using the innovative color overlay system is provided. Here, the inscriptions are described in full in both Latin and the English translation, and all portraits and symbols are described and discussed for both the obverse and reverse sides of each coin.

 

 

IMP CAES NER TRAIANO OPTIMO AVG GER DAC

Latin Backronym: Imperator Caesar Nerva Traianus Optimo Augustus, Germanicus Dacicus

English Translation: Emperor Caesar Nerva Trajan the Most Perfect Venerable Conqueror of the Germans and the Dacians

 

The second section consists of a highly researched and footnoted history of the ruler and the dynasty in a concise and entertaining style relying on known facts.

 

These modules are a stand-alone research and teaching tool for either the collector who wishes to understand the coins and the history or the teacher who wishes to use each module as an aid to their own lessons.

 

Second Part

 

This is a comprehensive color-coded dictionary that explains the meaning in both Latin and English on what is inscribed on the coins. This includes the translation from Latin to English. This is a simplification of what is fully explained in the text in each module. The dictionary will be an example as more books in the series are published and will become a comprehensive handbook to the real meaning behind the inscriptions.

 

Third Part

 

There will be a small technical section that will have different aspects of numismatics, drawn from the work of Visiting Fellow Arthur Needham and Chartered Accountant Mohammed Tariq Ansari. Here, we delve deeper into technical numismatics and add a section of citizen science for those who wish to explore modern numismatics as well as relive the use of coins across not only the Roman Empire, but across the trading world.

 

Summary

 

We have been shown by the brilliant new author, Matthew Clark Materio of the USA, the way forward in modern numismatics literature. His decision to use the new color overlay methodology to illustrate and describe what is actually inscribed on the coins is a master stroke for European ancient coinage. His clear descriptions of the meanings bring a breath of fresh air to what has become a moribund presentation of data.

The history section following each coin has been extensively researched, and for the keen historian, both young and old, this history and the extensive bibliography can keep the inquisitive mind searching for a lifetime.

 

There then follows a small technical section to be added in each new book of the series. Taken from the work of Needham and Tariq Ansari, this adds studies in numismatics and draws the reader into the true coin studies by introducing metrology and its study. Here we have the introduction of citizen science into the study. A proforma document for collectors to add their knowledge to a data set to check on the real coin series metrology. Here, we also have a section for the recording of percentage of precious metal. With modern and non-invasive technology used correctly, the truth of metrology and its changes at all levels can be investigated and reported on. The new era is here.

 

Fundamentally the most brilliant new work on Roman coinage to be available in decades.

 

 

 

Arthur Needham FRAS FRNS

Visiting Fellow Postgraduate

 

Footnote: Within any discussion of history, various sources and ideas will be researched, measured, reviewed and represented. If a reader should disagree with what is presented, then that is every reader’s right. That does not mean the view presented is incorrect. To be challenged in concepts and ideas is part of the personal learning curve.

 

Publisher - THE EXPLORIST

Language - English

Case Bound - Cloth

Contributors

By author

Matthew Clark Materio

Matthew Richter

Arthur Needham

Mohammed Tariq Ansari

Arthur Needham

Published Date - 2025-07-22

ISBN - 9780987500427

Dimensions - 29.7 x 21 x 2.8 cm

Page Count - 248