Terracotta coin molds

ca. 308–320 CE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 169

Roman coins were usually struck, not cast. These molds, therefore, were made from real coins in order to make forgeries of low-value bronze nummi. The practise may be seen as an attempt to overcome a shortage of official coin, but it clearly involved an element of deception and profiteering and was undoubtedly regarded as highly illegal by the imperial authorities. These examples include three obverse and three reverse molds, the latter all from coins minted at Alexandria, which fits the recorded provenance. The obverses portray two of the tetrarchs of the period between A.D. 308 and 311 and a later coin showing Constantine II as Caesar, dated A.D. 317–320.

Artwork Details

Overview

Title: Terracotta coin molds
Period: Late Imperial, Tetrarchic
Date: ca. 308–320 CE
Culture: Roman
Medium: Terracotta
Dimensions: H.: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)(average)
Classification: Terracottas
Credit Line: Gift of Joseph V. Noble, 1958
Object Number: 58.179.1–.8
Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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