A Study of The Chemical Composition of Roman Silver Coinage, AD 196-197 / Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting With A Contrib. by Graham Chandler

American Journal of Numismatics, Second Series
AMERICAN
OF
JOURNAL
NUMISMATICS
V AAErI
/
' NUrtlSnATIC
/
VSOCIETYimT /
Second
The
American
THE
Series,
continuing
Numismatic
AMERICAN
Society
NUMISMATIC
NEW
Museum
Notes
SOCIETY
YORK
1997
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
CONTENTS
Ancient
Arthur Houghton. Some Seleucid Test Pieces
L. A. Saryan. An UnpublishedSilver Drachm Attributedto
Artaxias III (A.D. 18-34) of Armenia
Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting. A Study of the
ChemicalCompositionof Roman SilverCoinage,A.D. 196-97
1
7
17
Oriental
Gerald M. Browne. The Elephant-RiderDlnras of Kumragupta I
37
Touraj Daryaee. The Use of Religio-PoliticalPropaganda on

the Coinage of Xusr II
41
Modern
A Generation of Numismatic CoM. Nuxoll.
on
the
Notes and Coins of the Confederaoperation:Findings
tion throughthe Papers of Robert Morris
T. V. Buttrey. False WesternAmericanGold Bars
Elizabeth
55
89
Review Article
S. E. Buttrey and T. V. Buttrey. CalculatingAncientCoin
Production,Again. Reviewing de Callata, Depeyrot, and
,
Villaronga,L'Argentmonnayed'Alexandrele granda Auguste
Production:
Ancient
Coin
de
and
Callatay, "Calculating
Seekinga Balance"
113
Book Reviews
Francis Van Keuren, The Coinage of Heraclea Lucaniae.
AndrewBurnett
137
Blanche R. Brown, Royal Portraitsin Sculptureand Coins:

Pyrrhos and the Successorsof Alexander the Great. Jane
DeRose Evans
139
Kenneth W. Harl, Coinagein theRoman Economy

, 300 B.C. to
A.D. 700. David B. Hollander
143
P. Bastien, Le bustemontaire
des empereurs
romains.WilliamE.
Metcalf
150
, vol. I, Gordiano
Ripostigliode VenraNuovo Catalogo Illustrato
111-Quintillo,ed. Jean-BaptisteGiard,and vol. II/I, Aureliano, ed. SylvianeEstiot. William E. Metcalf
154
R. H. Ashton, M. Amandry, and G. Le Rider, coins and
circulationin ancientTurkey. William E. Metcalf
157
AJN Second Series 9 (1997)

Numismatic
1997TheAmerican
Society
A STUDY
OF
ROMAN
THE
CHEMICAL
SILVER
COINAGE,
COMPOSITION
A.D.
OF
196-197
Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

with a Contribution by Graham Chandler.
Introduction
The early denarius coinage of Septimius Severus was issued at a
number of differentmints in the Roman empire in addition to the
mint of Rome. This phenomenonis importantbecause it representsa
departurefromthe establishedpatternof mintingseen in the second
centuryA.D., where denariiwere generallystruckonly at Rome. It is
also importantto note that this departurewas not long term,and that
productionwas again centeredon Rome by the beginningof the third
century.The location of the non-Rome mints has been a subject of
debate. That one of them was Alexandria in Egypt is now generally
accepted, althoughits outputwas fairlylimitedand was not important
in termsof the volume of coinage circulatingin the empire.It operated
only for a short period, ca. A.D. 194-95. More significantare other
groupsof coins,usually describedas "eastern,"and sometimesspecifically attributedto two Syrian mints,Laodicea ad Mare and Emesa,
which struckcoins between A.D. 193-94 and 202. We do not propose
to discuss the attributionsto mintsin any detail in this article,but it
is worthpointingout that the attributionof these coins to particular
mintsrestsmore on speculationbased on historicalevents in the reign
of Severus than on any hard evidence,such as hoards or finds.
17
18
There is a second significantaspect to the denariuscoinage of Septimius Severus. In A.D. 194 he debased the denarius of Rome, establishinga new lower standard. The significanceof this debasement
cannotbe overstated.Its effectcan be seen in hoardingpatternsthroughout the empire,and it can trulybe consideredas a watershedbetween
hoardingpatternsof the second centuryand patternsof the firsthalf
of the thirdcentury.Hoards containinglarge numbersof Sevean postdebasementcoins usually containfewpre-debasementdenarii,and vice
versa. That some of the pre-debasementhoards close afterthe debasement can be seen fromsome of the later strays,and we note in particular the occasional coins of the usurperClodius Albinus, struck ca.
A.D. 196. We will not go into the possible reasons forthese patterns
here,but it is importantto note that the hoard evidence impliesthat
saw the pre-and post-debasementcoins as being differcontemporaries
ent in some way. This may be simplybecause theywere debased, or it
value compared
may reflectthe fact that the new coins had a different
coins were perceived as
to, say, the gold coinage. If the post-reform
debased and/ordifferent
and theywere intendedto formthe backbone
of Rome's silver coinage fromA.D. 194 onward, Severus would have
needed to put more of the new denarii into circulationquickly and
and one interpretation
of the openingup of regionalmints
efficiently,
is that it was a responseto this need.
Some of these observationswill be explored in later studies of the
Sevean silver coinage. The purpose of our investigationshere is
twofold.First, to determinethe silver standard used by Severus after
the debasementand to obtain a clearer picture of the metallurgyof
the Sevean silver coinage. Second, to examine the minor and trace
elementprofilesof some of the different
mints,not in orderto try to
or similaritiesin
discovertheirlocations,but to determinedifferences
theirelementalcharacteristicswhichmay relate to the source of metal
in the productiontechnologies.
and/ordifferences
The Coins Analyzed
Four groups of coins, all of the period 196-97, were chosen for the
presentstudy:
1) Denarii of Rome belongingto Severus's eighthimperatorship(IMP
VIII);
Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197
19
2) Denarii of an uncertaineastern mint,also of Severus' eighthimperatorship;

3) Denarii of an uncertaineasternmint,of Severus's eighthand ninth
imperatorship(IMPVIIIand IMPVilli);
4) Denarii of the usurper Clodius Albinus, struck in the western
empire.
These groupswere chosenwith a particularrelationshipbetweenthe
two groupsof easterncoins in mind.They are both traditionallyconsidered Syrian,and even to be consecutiveproductsof the same mint
(Laodicea ad Mare), although stylisticallyand typologicallythey are
The second grouplistedabove is oftencalled "Laodicea
quite different.
old style" and the thirdgroup "Laodicea new style." A recent article
whichdiscussesthese coins restatesthe traditionalview: "the 'old style'
seriesis undoubtedlyEastern, and I do not believe that it can persuasivelybe contendedthat the 'new style'is not a continuationfromthe
same mint."1As a controlit was thoughtusefulto use two groups of
coins whichare relativelyplentifuland whichwe know are not eastern,
the productsof Rome and the denarii of Clodius Albinus which were
probably struck in Gaul. These could then be compared with the
easterncoins.
The coins selected for analysis were all fromthe collectionof the
BritishMuseum. For assistance with this task we would like to thank
AndrewBurnett,Roger Bland, and JonathanWilliams of the Department of Coins and Medals, who very kindlyplaced the relevantcoins
at our disposal. The individual coins were selected to cover several
reversetypes per group,but it should be noted that we were
different
also restrictedby the suitability of individual specimens for our
samplingtechnique.
Group1. SeptimiusSeverus,Rome.
1. BMC 151
2. BMC 152
ADVENTIAVGFELICISSIMO
ADVENTIAVGFELICISSIMO
1 Bickford-Smith,
R. A., "TheImperial
Mintsin theEast forSeptimius
Severus:
It Is Timeto Begina through
RIN 96 (1994/95),
Reconsideration,"
pp.53-71.
20
3. BMC
4. BMC
5. BMC
6. BMC
7. BMC
8. BMC
9. BMC
10. BMC
153
156
157
161
167
169
178
180
ADVENTI AVGFELICISSIMO
ADVENTI AVGFELICISSIMO
ARAB ADIAB COS II PP
FORTVNAEREDVCI
LIBERALITAS
AVGII
MVNIFICENTIAAVG
VOTAPVBLICA
VOTAPVBLICA
Group2. SeptimiusSeverus,Laodicea old style

1. BMC 441
2. BMC 442
3. BMC 443A
4. 1979 6-14-16
5. BMC 444
6. BMC 445
7. BMC 446
8. 1947 10-1-10
9. 1946 10-4-827
10. BMC 449
CERERERVGIF
FORT REDVC
FORT REDVC
FORT REDVC
FORT REDVC
LIBERAVG
LIBERTAAVG
LIBERTAAVG
MARTVICT
MONETAVG
Group3. SeptimiusSeverus,Laodicea newstyle,obv.endingIMPVIII

1. BMC 451
2. 1979 6-14-17
3. BMC 456
HERCVLIDEFENS
PM TRP V COS II PP
PROVIDENTIAAVG
Caracalla Caesar, Laodicea new style

4. 1946 10-4-829
SECVRITASPERPETVA
5. BMC 461
SECVRITASPERPETVA
SeptimiusSeverus,Laodicea new style,obv. endingIMPVilli
6. BMC 463
PM TRP V COS II PP
7. BMC 466
PROFECTIOAVG
Group4. Clodius AlbinusAugustus,obv.legendIMPCAES D CLO ALBIN
AVG
1. 1946 10-4-761
SPE AVGCOS II

2. BMC 267
3. BMC 268
21
SPE AVGCOS II
VICTAVGCOS II
Obv. legendIMPCAE D CLO SEPALB AVG

4. BMC 269
5. 1946 10-4-764
6. BMC 272
7. BMC 273
8. BMC 275
9. 1946 10-4-760
10. BMC 277
CLEMENTIAAVGCOS II
FIDES LEGIONISCOS II
IOVISVICTORIAECOS II
MARSPATERCOS II
SAECVLIFELCOS II
SAECVLIFELCOS II
VICTAVGCOS II
Analytical Problems
The denariuscoinage of the Sevean period has been the focus of a
numberof analytical projectsaimed at gaininga betterunderstanding
of the processes of corrosionand segregationin base-silver alloys.
Alloys of silver and copper which contain less than about 90% silver
will generallycontain two phases: one rich in copper and one rich in
silver. Because of the differencein chemical reactivity (electrode
potential) the less noble (more electro-negative)phase will corrode
to the silver-richphase. This processleads to the surface
preferentially
of
the
layers
alloy losingcopperto the environmentwhichresultsin an
of the silvercontent.For coins,the problemsof
enhancement
apparent
natural copper-depletionare likely to have been furtherexacerbated
by a blanchingprocess conducted at the mint priorto striking.This
process, involvingtreatmentwith an organic acid, would have been
necessary to remove the layer of black copper oxide which would
have inevitablyformedon the freshlycast coin blank. However, it
seems unlikelythat the silver enrichmenteffectaccompanyingsuch a
treatment2would have gone unnoticedat the mint,especially as the
2
as undergone
thepreferential
corrosion,
By thesamechemical
processes
during
removal
ofthelesselectro-negative
copper-rich
phase.
22
debased alloy would have looked very yellow unless treated in this
way. The maintainingof a currencywhich at least looked as if it
were made of fine silverwould have been of considerableimportance
to the issuingauthority,and this effect,althoughfortuitousin the first
instance,would certainlyhave been exploited.3
Condamin and Picon were the first to examine the preferential
corrosionof copper in denarii of Septimius Severus4 and concluded
that the surface silver content of debased silver-alloycoins will be
markedlyhigherthan the silver contentof the alloy withinthe coin.
They attributed this solely to the effectsof corrosion. They also
demonstratedthat the metal withinthe coin was more trulyrepresentative of the originalalloy. In particularthis article demonstratedthe
Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) as
problemsof "non-destructive"
to
coins.
Used in this way, NAA accurately
silver-alloy
applied
analyses the whole coin as it is today, includingthe surfaceenriched
areas. A total NAA analysisgave a figureof 53% silvercomparedwith
an internalsilver content of 45% for a Sevean denarius.5Furthermore,it was also shownthat the enrichedarea can oftenextend some
way into the coin. Despite this demonstrationof seriousproblemswith
such approaches, as well as other related work, notably by Cope,6
many have claimed to obtain accurate and meaningfulresults from
surface analyses.7 Carter'stechnique, as applied to silver-alloycoins,
was to air-abradethe area to be analyzed removinga total estimated
60 (Jimof surface metal. This was the amount of metal removed in
order to achieve a repeatable reading (three repeats startingat 20
3
inmedieval
mintworkshops
in
ofblanching
facilities
havebeenfound
Examples
at theArchbishop's
Norway
(McLees,L. H., "TheLate MedievalMintWorkshops
68 f19941,
Palace,Trondheim,
Antiquity
pp.264-74).
4 Condamin,
andDiffusion
on the
ofCorrosion
J.,andM. Picon,"TheInfluence
1 (1964),pp.98-105.
ofSilverin RomanDenarii,"
Archaeometry
Percentage
5 Condamin
andPicon,p. 104.
of RomanImperialSilverand Aes
Analysis
Cope,L. H., "TheMetallurgical
Ancient
Coins,"pp. 261-78,in Hall and
Coinage,"
pp. 3-47,and "Surface-Silvered
Metcalf,Eds., Methodsof Chemicaland Metallurgical
Investigation
of Ancient
8 (1972).
Coinaae,
RoyalNumismatic
SocietySpecialPublication
7 Condamin
andPicon,above,n. 4.
23
the assumptionbeing that this is repre(xm,endingat about 60 Jim),

sentativeof the main bulk of the coin. However,it appears that this is
misleading.There is a notable discrepancybetween the silver values
for Sevean denarii issued after A.D. 193 as reportedby Condamin
and Picon8 (45%) and as reported by Carter.9 Carter gives us an
average figureof 58.4% 0.5% (normalized)based on ten analyses.10
This is a discrepancyof over 13%. Yet it is this method(or a variant
of it) whichhas been repeatedlyused fornumismaticresearch.Indeed,
it is this methodwhich was used by Walker in his magnumopus The
11
Metrologyof theRoman Silver Coinage and gave a mean silvervalue
of 57.6% for the same issues analyzed by Carter.12This discrepancy
clearly needs explaining and suggests that the abrasion technique
does not, in all cases, produce a representativeanalysis. Previous
work by the authors13has looked at Roman provincialsilvercoinages
and has demonstratedthat surfaceanalyses, such as those by Walker,
invariablyoverestimatethe silvercontentand also give a false impression of great inconsistency.Both these effectsare the resultof a technique which only analyzes metal fromwithinthe enrichedzone.
Both the natural and artificialprocessesof enrichmenthave similar
results. However, the striking of the coin after 'blanching' will
compressand consolidate the silver-richzone into a continuousand
compacted layer. This can clearly be seen in the structureof such
coins underthe scanningelectronmicroscope(SEM) (Fig. 1).
8 Condamin
andPicon,above,n. 4.
of Septimius
G. F., "Reproducibility
of X-RayFluorescence
Carter,
Analyses
19 (1978),pp.67-73.
Numismatic
Chronicle
Severus
Denarii,"
10See Carter, 70.
p.
11Walker,D. R., The
, part3: From
of theRomanSilverCoinage
Metrology
BAR Supplementary
Series40 (1978).
toUraniusAnto
nimus,Oxford,
Pertinax
12Condamin
194and211A.D. andgave
54 coinsofbetween
andPiconanalysed
a figure
of between
45% and 50% for36 of the coins.Walker(1978)analyzed
somewhat
more,givingaveragesof 78.71%, 65.84%, 66.5%, 61.4%, 57.59%,
58.88%, 55.58%, 55.53%, 57%, 57.67%, 57.16%, 54.75%, 57.07%, 53.21%,
issuegroups
within
thatperiod.
57.63%and55.17%(st.devof4 - 8) forhisdifferent
13Butcher,
of
K. E. T. and M. J. Ponting,
"Romeand theEast. Production
RomanPronvincial
SilverCoinageforCaesareain CappadociaunderVespasian,
A.D. 69-79,"Oxford
Journal
14,1 (1995),pp.65-77.
ofArchaelogy
24
of a cut sectionof a 50:50 silverxopper

Fig. 1 SEM photomicrograph
Roman
coin
alloy
provincial
showinga typical two-phasestructurein
the interiorand a mineralizedcopper-phasetoward the surface(mid
gray is silverrich,lightgray is copper rich,and dark gray is mineralized copper rich). The edge of the coin is to the bottomleft.The
strongalignmentof the phases is the resultof striking.
25
Percentage Data for Sevean Denarii

%
No. iRef.
1Au%1Sn%| Ag%|Cu% Pb% Bi% Zn% Fe% Ni% Total
IMPVIII
'oldstyle,'
Severus
Septimius
,Laodicea
11BMC441
0.24i <0.5| 41.o| 40.5 0.34 0.07 0.032<0.03 0.058 82.1
0.07 <0.5 42.9 58.4 0.22 0.11 0.016<0.03 0.129 101.7
2 BMC442
0.25 <0.5 35.0 61.0 0.24 <0.03 0.011<0.03 0.071 96.6
3 BMC443a
4 1979
6-14-16 0.33 0.61 46.1 53.1 0.24 0.06 0.013<0.03 0.102 99.8
0.04 <0.5 50.2 50.9 0.13 0.18 0.010 0.05 0.057 101.3
5 BMC444
0.44 <0.5 47.7 52.2 0.12 0.10 0.026<0.03 0.163 100.5
6 BMC445
0.29 0.53 47.5 54.8 0.14 0.11 0.018 0.04 0.041 102.8
7 BMC446
8 1946
10-4-827 0.26 <0.5 47.5 51.4 0.32 0.06 0.037 0.04 0.087 99.6
9 1947
10-1-10 0.36 <0.5 49.0 48.8 0.38 0.03 0.036 0.04 0.051 98.5
10[BMC
449
0.191<0.51 48.4| 54.9 0.30 <0.03 0.049 0.05 0.127 103.9
IMPVIII
'new
Laodicea
style,'
Septimius
Severus,
i <0.5 47.0 51.9 0.30 0.06 0.027 0.11 0.119 99.7
11[BMC
451
0.43
121979
6-14-17 0.28 <0.5 48.4 49.7 0.28 <0.03 0.015 0.09 0.374 99.0
13[BMC
456
0.301<0.51 47.8 50.5 0.29 0.03 0.026 0.05 0.113 98.9
'new
Caracalla
Laodicea
style'
Caesar,
i 48.9 50.7 0.15 0.04 0.024 0.07 0.170 100.3
0.37
i 0.69
1946
10-4-829
14|
151BMC461
0.35i 0.61
1 48.8
52.6 0.24 <0.03 0.037 0.12 0.101 102.1
' IMPVilli
'new
Laodicea
style,
Septimius
Severus,
0.29i 1.05i 46.9150.6 0.62 <0.03 0.033 0.14 0.142 98.6
161BMC463
BMC466
0.33 0.93 47.7 49.5 0.48 <0.03 0.026 0.13 0.226 98.2
171
Clodius
Albinus,
Augustus
251BMC268 I 0.40 <0.5 84.9 13.6 0.48 <0.03 0.012 0.04 <0.01 99.4
0.43 <0.5 80.0 18.1 0.51 0.03 0.028<0.03 <0.01 99.1
26BMC267
271946
10-4-761 0.48 <0.5 76.3 23.3 0.55 <0.03 0.068<0.03 <0.01 100.6
21BMC277
0.24 <0.5 75.2 23.8 0.36 0.03<0.003 0.03 0.010 99.6
22194610-4-760 0.36 <0.5 79.1 20.5 0.37 0.05 0.007<0.03 0.014 100.3
23BMC275
0.62 <0.5 87.7 10.5 0.74 0.05 0.026<0.03 0.021 99.6
035 na 76.3 23.5 0.26 0.03<0.003<0.03 <0.01 100.4
BMC272
28BMC273
0.41 <0.5 81.6 24.1 0.23 0.04 0.003 0.03 <0.01 106.3
29194610-4-7640.52 <0.5 69.7 25.8 0.51 <0.03 0.046 0.03 0.012 96.5
30[BMC
269
0.3| <0.51 73.5
1 25~4 0.23 <0.03 0.012<0.03 0.010 99.5
IMPVIII
obverses
Septimius
Rome,
ending
Severus,
31BMC153
0.161<0.51 43.5152.7 0.60 <0.03 0.025 0.07 0.035 97.0
32BMC156
0.28 <0.5 46.1 52.3 0.53 0.04 0.024<0.03 0.031 99.2
0.16 <0.5 46.6 54.0 0.46 0.16 0.015 0.06 0.035 101.2
33BMC152
34BMC151
0.32 <0.5 46.8 51.3 0.48 <0.03 0.025 0.05 0.016 98.9
35BMC157
0.13 <0.5 47.6 51.2 0.44 0.21 0.007 0.06 0.021 99.3
36BMC161
0.33 <0.5 44.4 52.9 0.50 0.05 0.030 0.05 0.016 98.2
37BMC178
0.30 <0.5 46.3 55.5 0.49 0.05 0.055<0.03 0.017 102.7
38BMC180
0.25 <0.5 44.8 51.8 0.38 0.05 0.012 0.03 0.015 97.2
39BMC167
0.32 <0.5 46.8 51.4 0.48 0.03 0.040 0.06 0.020 99.0
241BMC169
0.34
1 <0.51 46.4
1 51.510.5310.051O.O27I0.061O.OI2I 98.8
26
The zone enrichedby corrosionalone will still have the different

phases clearly visible, but many of the copper-rich"lenses" will be
mineralisedor empty.The combinationof both processesresultsin a
silver rich zone of broadly two compositionsextendingan unpredictable distance into the coin. The consolidatedblanched layer rightat
the surfacewill be of pure silver,possiblyover 90%, but will be only a
few microns thick. The corroded layer will be less fine, and very
patchy,with some areas being more corrodedthan others,depending
on the originalstructure.This will oftenextendto some depth and will
be of a highersilvercontentthan the originalalloy. Indeed, in certain
cases this corroded zone may extend throughoutthe entire coin,
making an accurate analysis impossible. Consequently,the repeated
abrasion and analysis technique as developed by Carter and applied
by Walker will avoid the blanched layer but mistakenlyanalyze the
corrodedzone beneath. The resultsbear this out, with only Walker's
lowest figuresapproachingthe real value. Furthermore,the inconsistency which is apparent in Walker's figuresfromthe high standard
deviationsis a resultof the unpredictabledepth of the corrodedzone
and the variabilityof the corrosioneffects.
This study reassesses the finenessof the denarius coinage of this
period, in the light of the above discussion,by analyzing samples of
metal taken as drillingsfromthe "heart-metal"of selected coins. The
analyticaltechniquehas been describedin detail elsewhere.14
Results
SilverContentand theProblemof Standards
The silver contentsforthe Sevean issues agree very well with the
findingsof Condaminand Picon, being around 46%, and confirmthe
unreliabilityof Walker's figuresfor the reasons discussed above. The
silvercontentof 46% is also rathermore consistentthan Walker's 5560% figure, having a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.8
compared to 10.5 for Walker's figures.The contemporarydenarii of
Clodius Albinus also have a lower mean silver content of 78.4%
14See Butcher
andPonting,
pp.67-69.
27
compared to Walker's 89.2%. However, this does not affectWalker's

conclusion that Albinus's denarii were struck on the earlier Flavian
standard.Our reanalysisof Flavian denariihas shownWalker's figures
to be equally inaccuratewith 78.7% being the newly estimatedmean
value.15
Silver metal as perceived in antiquity was very differentfrom
elemental silver as measured by modern analytical techniques. The
processes of smeltingand refiningsilver fromits various ores could
not produce chemicallypure silver. Traces of other elementspresent
in the originalores were inevitablycarriedthroughthe processesand
remain to be found in the coins themselves.Silver in antiquity was
commonlyproduced fromargentiferouslead ores or fromother ores
using processes which required the addition of lead.16 In either case
argentiferouslead metal was produced, where the silver occurs as a
minorcomponentin the lead togetherwith minutetraces of gold and
bismuth,etc. coming fromthe original ore. In order to extract the
silverfromthe lead a second process called cupellationwas used. This
involvedheatingthe metal to about 1000 C in a strongair flowwhich
oxidized the lead and most other impurities.Only the elements not
readily oxidized would remain in theirmetallic state. These consisted
primarilyof the silver and any gold in the original ore which also
would have been carried through into the silver. Certain other
elements would also have been difficultto remove by cupellation,
notably bismuth. Consequentlyany silver produced by this process
will contain traces of gold similarin concentrationto the originalore
and possiblytraces of bismuthdependenton ore type used. Traces of
lead will also invariably remain as complete cupellation was rarely
achieved, especially in large scale operationsas were the case in the
Roman period. The silver which would have been used to make the
coinage alloy would thereforecontain these trace impurities.Roman
silver is generally considered to contain between 0.05% and 2.5%
lead, 0.1% to 0.5% gold and, generally,0.01% up to 1% bismuth.17
15See No. 13.
conclusions
(1995)pp. 67-69.The factthatin thiscase Walker's
are validshouldnotlead thereaderintothinking
thatin generalhisconclusions
silverstandards
arevalid.
aboutcomparative
16Craddock,
P. T., EarlyMetalMiningandProduction
1995),p. 213.
(Edinburgh,
17See Craddock, 213.
p.
28
This means that up to 3% of the metal which was added to the

meltingpot as "silver"was not silver. It thereforeseems sensible to
regard the fineness of an ancient coinage as being the combined
silver,gold, lead, and bismuth contents. However, by a small scale
cupellationor "fireassay" virtuallyall the lead can be removed,and
this may have been the techniqueemployedto establishthe purityof
silverin antiquity,as was certainlythe case by the twelfthcentury.18
It is thereforelikely that the silver refinedon large scale cupellation
hearths (down to around 98% fine silver)19would have been known
to be less than pure by the fireassaying,if this was used as a quality
control. The question then is whether the standard on which the
coinage was struck took this fact into consideration.Certainlythis
was the case in medieval England, where the sterlingstandard was
calculated as 92.5% (silver plus gold) and excludingany lead present
fromlarge scale cupellation.20However, if we calculate the finenessof
the Sevean denarii as being the sum of the silver,gold, and lead we
arrive at a figureclose to 50%. The use of a 50% standard would
seem very logical compared to a 48.5% or 49% standard and would
suggestthat the presenceof 1% - 2% lead, even if knownabout, was
not deemed sufficient
to detract fromthe requiredpurityof the standard. Given the highlevel of base metal in the Sevean denariiit is, of
course, possible for some of the lead to come from the copper.
18
to fireassayspecifically,
butsmallscalecupellation
ofthe
Plinydoesnotrefer
typeis discussed
by Percy(1870)in hisbookTheMetallurgy
ofLead (pp. 209-11)
wasableto produce
actas a method
ofchecking
>99% pureandtherefore
feinsilber
Thisprocess
is certainly
ofsomeantiquity,
largerscaleoperations.
beingdescribed
in somedetailbybothAgricola
Librixii,Basileae,1561,pp.385(de Re Metallica
basis,for
492) and Erker(see n. 19 below)as wellas havingsomearchaeological
hearths
foundat Silchester
and Hengistbury
examplethesmallscale cupellation
Head (above,n. 12, see Craddock
the smallscale cupellation
p. 229). Whether
was
used
as
a
final
to
process
habitually
stage produce
puresilveror solelyas an
is
occasionalmethodto checkthepurityof thelargerscale cupellation
product
is knowing
Thereis
Whatis important
thatthisstageis necessary.
unimportant.
butthe
evidence
theRomanperiod,
no definite
thatfireassaying
was usedduring
wascertainly
available.
technology
19Siseo,A. G.,andC. S. Smith,
on
Translation
ofLazarusErker's1580Treatise
OresandAssaying
(1951),p. 64.
20
M. J.(forthcoming),
oftheCoinageofHenry1st,"appendix
"Analysis
Ponting,
Publication.
andW. Conte,British
Museum
Occasional
in M. Archibald
29
However,this is likelyto be very small given that Roman mintsgenerally seem to have used freshlysmelted copper and not recycled
scrap.21This view is also supportedby the low levels of other trace
elements which would otherwiseindicate the use of recycled basemetal. The one exceptionto this is with the later Laodicea New style
coins of Severus, which have a significanttrace of tin present,and
may suggestthe use of recycledmetal containinglow levels of tin.
The denarii of Septimius Severus thereforeappear to have been
struckon a standard of approximately50% silverwith the remainder
generallybeing virtuallypure copper. The denarii of Clodius Albinus,
on the otherhand, were struckof purermetal, probablyon a standard
of 80% silver, the same as that of the Flavian issues. Both these
figuresrepresenteasily calculable amounts by the methodsand terminology of the time. The 50% standard would be calculated as the
silver being alloyed with one part in two of copper, and the 80% as
being alloyed with one-fifth
part of copper. The silvercontentsof the
issues investigatedare shownas box and whiskerplots in Fig. 2, which
also show the spread of values.
loo90>
_____
r_ JL_
?
-m 80
i
+
60+
OC
1
a 50
93
^
r 40.
>
E 30J
N-
i
i-
P- ' =~J
.
.
4
3
1
10
10
Laodicea
old
Vili Laodicea
new
VIIILaodicea
newVIII
Vili
C.Albinus,
Severus,
Rome,
Lugdunum
Typecategory
Fig. 2. Finenessesof Sevean Denarii
21
AnAppraisal
M. J.,"Follesand Forgeries:
oftheComposition
ofthe
Ponting,
RomanCopper-Alloy
of
the
Mid-Third
to
Mid-Fourth
Centuries
A.D.
from
Coinage
ofLondon(1994),pp. 174-76.
Ph. D. thesis,
Britain,"
University
30
The largerspread apparentin the Laodicean old stylecoins is due to

one particularlybase coin, but the consistencyof the other Sevean
coins is very clear. The coins of Clodius Albinus,on the other hand,
are somewhat less consistentand this may reflect,inconsistenciesin
the mintingtechnology(blanching,etc.) or in the quality of the raw
silverfromwhichthe alloy was made.
Minor and Trace Constituents
The only elementapart fromsilverand copper to occur at levels of
1% and above is tin. This is unusual in Roman silvercoinages and is
of interestas it only occurs with any consistencyin one particular
group,the Laodicea new style coins of IMPVilliand the two coins of
Caracalla Caesar, ascribedin BMC to the period of Severus'sLaodicea
new style IMPVIII coinage. The most probably explanation for this is
that recycledlow tin bronze was used as the alloyingcomponent.
Gold, lead, and bismuthare potentiallythe most usefulelementsin
between the productsof different
mintsforthe reasons
distinguishing
discussedabove. A plot showingthe gold and lead contentsexpressed
as a ratio with the silver(to allow comparisonacross the two different
silver contents) clearly shows the Rome issues of Severus as being
quite distinct from the issues of Lyon and the east (Fig. 3). The
Rome issues have a significantlyhigher level of lead, calculable as
1.1% in fine silver,whereas the Lyon issues of Clodius Albinus and
Severus' Laodicean coins have only about 0.5% lead in fine silver.
This probablyrepresentsa differencein the cupellationprocessesand
can be used to suggesttwo different
models.
1. Silver producedin the east, and in the westernprovincescontrolled
by Clodius Albinus, was the product of smaller scale refining
processes more likely to remove a greater proportion of the
remaininglead. Or
2. These mintsrelied more heavily on recycledsilverwhich had been
repeatedlyrecycledover many (hundredsof) years and would there-
31
Fig. 3. Silver:Gold and Silver:Lead Ratio Plot

forehave been the productof smallerscale refiningprocesses.22This
is assuming straightre-use of metal, without any refining,which
would have involved the addition of lead. The second model is,
perhaps,the most tenable, especiallyas the gold contentsare generally quite homogeneous.This would suggesta supplypool of silver
whichhad been homogenizedby repeated remeltingand recycling.
The bismuthconcentrations,expressedin the same way and plotted
against the silver:goldratios (Fig. 4) clarifythe picture.The separation
of the Rome and Lyon issues is confirmed.However, a separationis
also suggested between the Laodicean old and new styles,with the
new style coins generallyoverlappingthe issues of Lyon. Both Rome
and Laodicea old style formquite distinctclusters(with one or two
outliers)due to theirhigherbismuthcontent,whereasthe otherissues
are generallyspread out.
22
ofRomanand Sassaniansilverplatehas showna similar
difference,
Analysis
withRomanplategenerally
silverplategenel%-2% leadandSassanian
containing
0.5% lead (Hughes,M. J. and J. A. Hall "X-RayFluorescence
rallycontaining
of
Late
Romanand SassanianSilverPlate,"Journalof Archaeological
Analysis
6 [1979],pp.321-44).
Science
32
Fig. 4 SilveriGoldand Silver:BismuthRatio Plot

The suggestionthat the Laodicea old and new styles are composican be taken furtherusinga standardstatisticaltechtionallydifferent
called
discriminant
nique
analysis.This statisticaltechniquechecksthe
of
a
validity
groupingsolely on the mathematicalrelationshipsof the
compositionalvariables and gives a probabilityvalue that each case
(coin)-is correctlygrouped. Using only the trace elementspresent,a
discriminantanalysis correctlyattributed97.3% (39 out of 40) of the
coins to their issue groups. This is a very good result and indicates
that there are significantchemical differencesbetween all the issue
groups. A plot of the discriminantfunctionsillustratesthis (Fig. 5),
showingthat the most similar groups are Severus Rome issues and
Clodius Albinus's Lyon issues. However, these are groups that we
already know clearly differfrom each other in their trace element
concentrationsand serve to illustrate the even greater difference
between these and the Laodicean issues. The old and new style coins
are well separated and the very differentcoins of the SECVRITAS
PERPETVAtype and IMPVilliare even more distinct.A closer studyof
the discriminantstatistics shows that, apart from lead, gold and
bismuth,iron and nickel concentrationsplay a significantrole in the
issue groupings.
33
Fig. 5. Plot of First Two DiscriminantFunctions

This is interestingas these two elementsare stronglyassociated with
the copper in the alloy, whereas the others are associated with the
silver. Nickel tends to relate directlyto the source of the copper ore,
with some copper ores containingmore nickelthan others,whereasthe
iron relates directlyto the smeltingand refiningtechnology.Generally
speaking, the more highly refined the copper, the lower the iron
content23or the more frequentlyremelted (some iron being lost as
oxide in every melt). The highestiron contentsare foundin the new
styleissues of Laodicea (mean of 0.1%) (Fig. 6) with the Rome (mean
of 0.05%) and old style issues overlapping. However, the old style
coins generallyseem to have the lowest iron contents(mean of 0.03%
with several coins below detectionlimits).It generallyappears that the
Roman mints used freshlysmelted copper which was refinedonly
enough to renderit workable, consequentlyiron content of 0.1% to
0.5% are common in copper-based coins.24The higher iron content
foundin the Laodicean and Rome issues would be broadly consistent
23See n. 13, 73-74,andn. 16, 137-41fora moredetaileddiscussion.

pp.
pp.
24 See above,n. 21.
34

161
14,
i
-
12,
.10.
.081
.06.04
02.
0.00,
i/=
Issue
1
1
I
- L_
15
3
15
IMP
old
VIII new
IMPVIIInew
IMP
VIII
IMPVIIIIRome,
style
styme
style
Fig. 6. Iron Contentof Sevean Denarii
with this level of refining.The lower levels may suggest the use of
in refiningstandards.The nickel
recycledmetal or merelydifferences
levels are also higherin the new style Laodicean issues (Fig. 7) with a
mean of 0.2% against a mean of 0.09% forthe old styleissues (and an
even lower figureof 0.02% forthe Rome issues).
41
*12
.3.
.2
^ .1.
m
____
____
______
"n=
Issue
'to
old
IMP
VIII
style
? IMPVIII
! IMPVIIII 15
new
IMP
VIII
new
Rome,
style
style
Fig. 7. Nickel Contentof Sevean Denarii
35
Conclusion
The standardof the post-reform
Sevean denariusis now established
as having been 50% cupelled silverand the standardof the coinage of
Clodius Albinus issued at Lyon was 80%. This differssignificantly
fromthe analyses publishedby Walker,but does not alter the validity
of his conclusion that Clodius Albinus was issuing denarii on the
Flavian standard. The coinage of Clodius Albinus Augustus is an
important phenomenon which deserves further examination: the
hoardingpattern observed in the introductionto this article may be
explained by the fact that the silver standard of these coins was
denarii
perceivedby contemporariesas being equal to the pre-reform
of the late firstand second centuriesA.D., and that these coins were
different
fromthe post-reform
denarii. The post-reform
Sevean standard of 50% is also demonstrablymore consistent than Walker's
higherstandard, as would be expected fromthe metallurgicalstudy
of the mintingprocesses and analytical techniques employed. This
50% silver standard is encounteredin other Roman coinages of the
firstand second centuriesA.D., which we have examined elsewhere.25
These coinages, however,are all Roman provincialcoinages,issued in
the eastern provinces.Nevertheless,one of the authorshas previously
suggesteda link betweenthis provincialstandard and the adoption of
the 50% standard for the denarius under Septimius Severus.26We
hope to be able to examine this possible link at a later date.
The denariiof Clodius Albinus not only differfromthose of Severus
in theirsilver content,but also in theirtrace elementconcentrations.
In particular the bismuth concentrations are generally lower,
silver sources. The issues of Rome and
suggestingthe use of different
Laodicea also differon the very basic level of their silverrgoldand
silver:leadratios. However,the Laodicean new styleis also compositiofromthe old style on two fundamentallevels.
nally different
1. The bismuthcontentsof the old style issues are generallyhigher,
and
25 See Butcher
andPonting,
aboven. 13,pp.68.
26Butcher,
K. E. T., "Rhodian
Drachms
at CaesareainCappadocia,"
Numismatic
Chronicle
1992,pp.41-48.
36
2. The iron and nickel levels are significantly

higherin the new style
coins than in any of the othergroups,with the Laodicean old style
coins generallyhaving the lowest iron concentrations.
This gives two independentargumentsfor the Laodicean old and
new stylesbeingthe productsof two different
mints.First the bismuth
levels indicatethe use of silverfromdifferent
sources.Second, the iron
and nickel levels indicate not only the use of copper fromdifferent
in the level of refiningapplied
sources,but also significantdifferences
This
duringcopper production.
suggests that the copper in the new
coins
was
less
well
refined and thereforeprobably
style
generally
smelted.
From
these
results we cannot conclude where the
freshly
Laodicean old style and Laodicean new style mintswere, but thereis
sufficient
evidenceto challengethe traditionalsuggestionthat theyare
the same mint. The most notable compositional group is that
comprisingthe two examples of the Laodicean new styleissues of IMP
Villiand the two Caracalla Caesar coins. The compositionalsimilarities
suggest that the SECVRITASPERPETVAcoins of Caracalla should be
placed with Severus's coins of IMP Villi (or perhaps with later IMPX
coins of A.D. 197 which were not analyzed), although the sample is
very small and furtheranalyses might uncover IMP VIII coins with
similar characteristics.Nevertheless,these coins must be seen as a
distinctcompositionalgroup and point to a marked change in mint
practice.
Acknowledgments
In additionto the staffof the BritishMuseum mentionedabove, the
authorswould like to thank Dr. D. Griffiths
and Dr. J. Merkelof the
Institute of Archaeology, University College London, for allowing
access to analytical equipment.This study is part of a largerseries of
analyses of Roman silvercoinage, and the authorsgratefullyacknowledge the supportof the BritishAcademy Fund forApplied Science in
Archaeologyand the Society of Antiquariesof London for respective
grantsto meet the costs of analysis and study. In addition we should
like to thank colleagues overseas,particularlyArthurHoughton,Rick
Witschoncke,and David MacDonald, fortheirenthusiasticsupportof
the project.

A Study of The Chemical Composition of Roman Silver Coinage, AD 196-197 / Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting With A Contrib. by Graham Chandler

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A Study of The Chemical Composition of Roman Silver Coinage, AD 196-197 / Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting With A Contrib. by Graham Chandler

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American Journal of Numismatics, Second Series

Touraj Daryaee. The Use of Religio-PoliticalPropaganda on

Blanche R. Brown, Royal Portraitsin Sculptureand Coins:

Kenneth W. Harl, Coinagein theRoman Economy

AJN Second Series 9 (1997)

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

2) Denarii of an uncertaineastern mint,also of Severus' eighthimperatorship;

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

Group2. SeptimiusSeverus,Laodicea old style

Group3. SeptimiusSeverus,Laodicea newstyle,obv.endingIMPVIII

Caracalla Caesar, Laodicea new style

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

Obv. legendIMPCAE D CLO SEPALB AVG

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

the assumptionbeing that this is repre(xm,endingat about 60 Jim),

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

of a cut sectionof a 50:50 silverxopper

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

Percentage Data for Sevean Denarii

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

The zone enrichedby corrosionalone will still have the different

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

compared to Walker's 89.2%. However, this does not affectWalker's

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

This means that up to 3% of the metal which was added to the

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

The largerspread apparentin the Laodicean old stylecoins is due to

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

Fig. 3. Silver:Gold and Silver:Lead Ratio Plot

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

Fig. 4 SilveriGoldand Silver:BismuthRatio Plot

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

Fig. 5. Plot of First Two DiscriminantFunctions

23See n. 13, 73-74,andn. 16, 137-41fora moredetaileddiscussion.

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

Fig. 7. Nickel Contentof Sevean Denarii

Chemical Composition of Silver Coins 196-197

Kevin Butcher and Matthew Ponting

2. The iron and nickel levels are significantly

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