Disjecta membra. Engravings with Numerals on Roman Bronze Coins and Tesserae from the 4th Century AD

The following presents a group of Roman bronze coins issued during the fourth century AD, which were later repurposed by engraving a large–sized Roman numeral on their reverses. Similar engravings also occur on two Roman provincial coins of the principate as well as on a handful of Roman tesserae from the fourth century, which are presented here for completeness as they are relatable to the same conversion pattern and phenomenon.

It should be noted in advance that the incised coins and tesserae recorded here have been in museum or private collections since at least the nineteenth century (where known), or have recently surfaced on the market. Since their find-spots are unknown, dating and analysing the engravings cannot rely on any archaeological context data, and must by necessity be based on other methods. This paper aims to explore the reuse of these objects in the late Roman period through a comparative approach, and provides some thoughts on the purpose, context, and meaning of their uncommon numeral marks.

The contribution is divided into four parts: the first gives a presentation of the materials and summarises their status quaestionis; an identification of the coin series to which these pieces formerly belonged is proposed in the second part through analysis of the types displayed on their obverses; the third section deals with the numeral incisions on the reverses and identifies the specimens which form part of the same ensemble; finally, a possible affiliation of the numeral marks and their inherent purpose is suggested in the fourth part. A catalogue including all specimens available to date is provided at the end of the contribution.