Author’s Prologue
IrefertothefirstvolumeofRoman Provincial Coinage,coveringtheperiod
..–...^13 Nowforthefirsttime,itispossibleto‘‘read’’theimages
andthewrittenlegendspresentedbytheentirerangeoflocalcoinagesinthe
Graeco-Romanworldoverthecrucialperiodoftheestablishmentofmon-
archicruleinRome.Thecoinagesofthedifferentlocalcommunitiesreveal
atoncethetransformationofthesymboliclandscapes—even,onemightsay,
the‘‘imaginedcommunities’’—towhichtheynowbelonged:eachcommu-
nityrepresentingitselfassomethingwithanindependentpoliticalidentity;
butnearlyallexplicitlyreflectingtheexistenceatthecentreofasingleruler,
whoseimageisreproducedalmosteverywhere.
Tocollectanddisplaythecoinsinthiswayis,ofcourse,deliberatelyto
give priority to theirexplicit messages, expressed in words and in images.
But,toreverttoathemetouchedonearlier,coins,likeotherphysicalprod-
uctsofancientsocieties,belonginseveraldifferentfieldsofenquiry.Once
again,thereisthehumaninteractionwiththephysicalworld:themining,
smelting,andtransportofbasemetals,silverorgold;andthenthedesignof
typefaces,andtheproductionofthecoins(oneshouldnotsayproduction
byamint,orstillless‘‘bythemintofcityx,’’fornoonecandefinewhat,if
anything,a‘‘mint’’inantiquitywas).Butthereisalsothequestionofvol-
umeofproduction,ofcirculation,and,beyondthat,theproblemofwhether
weshouldseeeconomicrelationsatalllevelsintheGraeco-Romanworld
ashavingbeenmonetised.^14 ‘‘Monetised’’willmeantwothings,notentirely
identical:theexpressionofvalueintermsofcoin(‘‘twodenarii,’’‘‘onemil-
lionsesterces’’);andthequestionofwhethereveryonehadaccesstocoinsin
circulation,withwhichtheywouldmakepayments.Theseissuesariseina
profoundwayandareveryfarfrombeingsolved,asregardstheextraction
ofvaluebytheRomanstateintheformoftaxation,anditssubsequentre-
deployment,mainlyinpaymentstosoldiers.Howfarweretheseobligatory
exchanges of value conducted by the use of coin?^15 Moreover, given that
therewas no paper money, and no system of credit transferon paper, and
. A. Burnett, M. Amandry, and P. P. Ripollès,Roman Provincial CoinageI.–:From
the death of Caesar to the death of Vitellius ( B.C.–A.D. )().Seenowalsothesecond
volume,A.Burnett,M.Amandry,andI.Carradice,Roman Provincial CoinageII.–:From
Vespasian to Domitian (A.D. –)().
. Forafewkeystudies,see,e.g.,K.Hopkins,‘‘TaxesandTradeintheRomanEmpire
(B.C.–A.D.),’’JRS():;C.J.Howgego,‘‘WhyDidAncientStatesStrike
Coins?,’’Num. Chron.():;‘‘TheSupplyandUseofMoneyintheAncientWorld,’’
JRS():;Ancient History from Coins().
. SeeR.Duncan-Jones,StructureandScaleintheRomanEconomy(),chap.:‘‘Taxa-
tioninMoneyandTaxationinKind.’’