These coins, ranging from crude cast hunks of bronze to medallic works of art struck on massive gold planchets representing concrete linkage to ancient Rome. So much of America and Europe is derived from Rome (our alphabet, engineering fundamen-tals, pay urinals, etc.) that the allure of coins as a tangible, historical artifact that may have passed through the hands of Julius Caesar, Constantine the Great, or even Atilla the Hun excites the imagination of collectors young and old.

As I mentioned earlier, Roman coins were minted over a 1400 year spans so that to speak about Roman coin is actually worthy of a multi-volume reference series. And fear not, those references are in use daily by advanced collectors around the world. However, at a very general level, coin occupied a completely different place in Roman society. Cursed (or blessed) by the lack of instant communication ala CNN, Roman leaders used coins as a medium of communication with their people and even their enemies!! Consider what better way to get your message across to a population rife with illiteracy than to propagate your easily recognizable message on coins the everyday man/soldier/merchant might handle. Propaganda!! Yes, Romans were masters of propaganda and every two-bit claimant to the throne immediately attempted to validate his claim by issuing coins with messages like; PEACE, SECURITY, GLORY TO THE ARMY, VICTORY. Obviously even the Romans recognized that coinage was a cornerstone of legitimizing authority and used it well.

In historical context, the coins of Rome track Rome's power and well being throughout. When Rome was a puny yet aggressive Italian city-state, they used crude lumps of bronze that were ill suited for widespread commerce. As Roman aspirations, strength and domain grew, they realized the need for silver coinage that could be accepted far and wide. Hence the birth of the silver denarius. However, a denarius at one point represented one day's pay for a soldier so other denominations made of bronze were used more regularly. These denominations include the semis, quadrans, as, dupondius, sestertius and more!!

To answer a common question, "How did these coins survive for so many centuries in such great shape?" There are a few factors involved. First, there were literally millions of coins minted per year during some periods. Next, Rome had no formal banking system whereby people could store their wealth. Without a doubt, a Roman soldier going into battle buried his coins so that his enemy wouldn't find easy loot should the Roman be killed. Finally, certain climates and soils are extremely favorable regarding the preservation of metals and many times coins buried as a group will result in the outer coins being quite corroded and the inner coins being in pristine condition

So, pick up a Roman coin and let your imagination carry you through the murky ages of time, envision-ing the centuries long journey the coins must have taken! - Paul