Rome mint

[LordBest]

Ive been thinking, in the first century AD and in republican times, Rome mint supplied the whole empire with most of its silver coinage, and probably a fair chunk of its bronze coinage as well. Yet in the 3rd and 4th centuries many, many more mints were employed. My question is, how many officina did Rome mint have in the earlier periods? Surely to provide such a huge amount of coins it must have been a massive complex, belching out coins at an incredible rate. Does anyone know how many officina Rome mint had then? Compared to however many it had in the later periods? Or the actual size of the mint building?
                        LordBest.

[Rugser]

It is not possible know how much shops have the mint from Rome.
I have read that the Senate provided for the mintage of the coins of bronze for the local necessities and each Province coined his coins of bronze for his necessity.
Other discourse was for the coins of gold and of silver which they was used for the commercial transactions. The mintage of these coins, it in republican epoch had entrusted to the Families of the "Gens" first and to the Aed. Cur. (chosen from the people on proposal of the Senate for military worths) after.

During the Empire the mintage of the coins of gold and of silver had given in contract to the privacies from the Emperor that provided for furnish the metal in turn withdrawn from the Erarium where pour in the entrances of the state. These privacies that coined not always stayed to Rome... they had distributed in all the empire.

I have read that Augustus made to coin each in gold around 25000 series of 25000 pieces.
You need remember that the big commercial transactions of the value of many million of sestertii came sorts with gold in bars. .reckoning with the Talent (around a Short Ton).
Other I don't know.  

Ser

[Doc]

LB-

Are you referring to the Officinatores monetae? According to Stevenson, there isn't a record of their numbers.

Cheers,

Doc

[LordBest]

Thanks Rugser. Im basically wondering about the output of Rome mint in the first century compared to the output in the 4th century. Didnt Rome ever mint late bronzeswith officina marks?
                       LordBest.

[Alex]

During Domitian period when on silver only the 4 Minervas were used, it seems that they had 4 specific officina for each denarius type, as obv die links between various rev types are almost inexistant, and the engraving styles are quite specific for each type.  
The gold was struck along silver.
The bronze seems to have been worked in different officinae.

Roughly, this is the situation during app 83-84 and 96.
It must have been inherited from early Flavian period. For example the various reverse types of the first period of Domitian inherited from Vespy/Titus are about 7-8 and again obv die links are rare and styles specif, thus they were 7-8 officinas which after the reform were contracted to 4.  Again I do not know what was with bronze.
Same "each reverse in its own officina" reported by a scholar on Galbas Rome mint denarii.

Unfortunatelly I havent had time to study these patterns on Trajans denarii, since the material is so vast.....

[Rugser]

The different quantity of coins uttered in the The century D.C. as regards the IV century is from seek in the emancipation of the populace and in the rigid concentration of the family administration.
In the I century D.C. the expenses for the families necessities had administered from the Pater Familia that prepared be to the shoppings that to the booking of the escorts. (Wheat, wine, oil, meat, cloth, utensils, livestock etc). These transactions were made for best part with coins of silver.  For the minute expenses of the good not products from the Familia were in use the system of the booking and i was made with the "tessera" .That also was worth for the services. The "Tessera" they were of lead and they came release from the baker, from the butcher, from the physician etc. in sheets behind payment of the correspondent.
Es. The Pater Familia acquired a certain number of tickets for the shows and distributed them to the families, to the slaves, to the "clientes" (guestes enduring) and to all the people that gravitated in the Familia. These used the tickets to their niceness and in the wanted times.
In the IV century is for the breakup of the rigid bond of the Familia that for the modification of the commerce of the goods to the detail and  to the movement of the emancipated people is in demand a better quantity of coins .
Numeration of the shops of the mint from Rome.
To me result that these numerations, in an irregular way, begin with Gallieno for then become stable in the period of the Tetrarchia and subsequently.
Like we know the shop he had marked with P for the first,  with S for the second, with T for the third and with the Q for the fourth .  Don't result me that they have gone beyond the fourth grade. .It is my opinion that as has stayed necessary they have increase the number of the employees that they did the P etc.
iI is interesting know that in the period of the Illyrians emperors (Valentinianus I, Valens, Gratianus and Valentinianus II the number of the shop any times and written  for wide.. .I have any AE3 of Gratianus and Valentinianus II with R SECUNDA..R QUARTA....

Ser

[Alex]

Rugser, I have to add that I have a Valens AE3 from Rome that has a full TERTIA in ex. as well.

[Rugser]

Alex, I like know where it has stayed found your coin with RTERTIA.
Tank
Ser

[yafet_rasnal]

Translation from Rugser-ian language to english...
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHERE THIS COIN WAS FOUND.

Yafet

[Alex]

It is from around here, Moesia Inf., north, very close to Danubes Delta.  Not in good condition as western mints are very rare in the east and when they appear they aren't exceptional. Still an interesting coin.

[Rugser]

Tank Alex.
It is rare find a small divisional coin so much far from his origin.

Ser

[Alex]

Yep.  From the PILES and MOUNTAINS of late roman bronze I handled or picked in at shows etc., I barelly found 1, Treveri, 2 Arles, 3 or 4 Rome mint coins, 3-4 Ticinum, 2-3 Aquileia, one Lugdunum.  The only worthy coins which were nice enough to add to my site where the Lugdunum, Constantine, and 2 Crispus from Ticinum.
I also found a few Antiochs, no Alexandria, no London.