Hi
PeterThe
inscription on the square one is a N which stands for
nomisma, the Greek name for the
solidus, which was 1/72 of a pound (c.4.55 gm), so the
weight is roughly correct.
As the
solidus was introduced about 309 and the
weight standard was used well up into the
Byzantine period the date should really be something like 4th-10th century at least. As the
inscription is from the Greek then the
weight is obviously from the eastern
part of the Roman/Byzantine Empire.
What the significance of the three strokes on the rectangular one might be (apart from a badly inscribed N
) I don't know, but if the
weight is the same, then the use could well have been the same, as a
nomisma weight.
Best wishes
Alan.