This is the fifth volume to be released in the American Numismatic Society / Cambridge University Press Using Coins as Sources series, which is designed to offer affordable and accessible introductions to different numismatic topics. This latest edition fulfils the aim admirably: the volume clearly presents the most up to date thinking on the topic, utilising the data available to us from the Roman Provincial Coinage project. Concise summaries of the relevant coinages and latest scholarship are presented, providing a solid foundation for further research. As Burnett observes in the preface, the coinage data now available to scholars allows us to write big histories, and a model for this is provided here, with new insights set alongside explanations of key concepts. While the chronological parameters of the volume (300 BCE – 300 CE) may surprise some given that the Roman Provincial Coinage catalogues begin in 44 BC, the approach reflects the increasing acknowledgement that Rome shaped coinage in the areas under Roman control from the very beginnings of Roman expansion. Scholarship is also increasingly abandoning the division between ‘Roman’ and ‘provincial’ coinages, instead seeing them both as part of an interconnected whole; this approach is also present within the book’s pages.
The first chapter of the volume begins with a discussion of the precious metal coinage of Rome and the provinces; as Burnett points out, these issues, made of gold and silver, were mostly under imperial control, even if the mint was located outside of Rome. Burnett provides an overview of the adoption of silver coinage at Rome, contextualised within broader regional silver production at the time. An exploration of how Roman conquest affected silver currencies in different regions is followed by a discussion of the imperial period. A handy table (Box 1.4) lays out the effect of Nero’s monetary reforms on the precious metal coinages of different regions, demonstrating the interconnectedness of the Roman economy and the strength of approaching Roman ‘imperial’ and ‘provincial’ currency together. Burnett concludes that Nero’s monetary reforms in both Rome and the provinces illustrates that, whatever his reputation in our surviving textual sources, the emperor presided over a remarkably effective administration (p. 25). The chapter ends with a consideration of gold coinage and its use.
The second and third chapters explore the effect of Roman Republican expansion on bronze currencies; the region-by-region approach is clear and useful for students. As Burnett observes, perhaps the most surprising feature of coinages in the provinces in this period (to modern scholars at least) is the almost complete lack of references to Rome as an imperial power, or to any of the key personalities of the period. Discussions of other economic activities in this period are also included, for example the cessation of bronze production by Rome from 80 BC, as well as the activities of Marius Gratidianus, whose precise monetary reforms remain murky, but whose resulting popularity is clear (p. 81, ‘No one has ever been more popular with the masses’, Cicero, de officiis 3.80). Here and elsewhere Burnett connects observed trends in the coinage to broader historical, societal and cultural issues in the Republic and Roman Empire. The volume does not only discuss coin evidence, but, commendably, brings in discussions of texts, inscriptions and archaeological finds. Burnett concludes that currencies remained far more unchanged in the east of the empire than in the west, but that we should not read too much into this. The normal approach of Rome was to allow existing institutions and systems to continue in the areas they conquered and it is only the Punic Wars and their aftermath that are an exception to this rule. No overarching concept of a Roman empire was imposed or adopted on coinage as Rome built her hegemony.
Chapter 4 contains much information that one might normally expect in an introductory chapter, focused as it is on providing a general model of provincial coinage under the Empire and how this source can be used by the historian; its location in the volume is undoubtedly a result of the fact that it addresses only imperial (not Republican) practice. Here Burnett discusses who was responsible for the production of coinage in the imperial provinces and whether cities needed imperial permission to coin. Again Burnett emphasises the Roman approach was laissez-faire: permission to coin could be sought and granted (and there are several coin issues that record this process), but it does not seem to have been a requirement. Burnett wonders whether the instances in which cities specifically sought permission to coin were more about flattering the emperor than anything else. A consideration of who was named on coinage, including women, is included, as well as a discussion of what contexts led to the decision to mint coins. Burnett observes that these seem to have been internal decisions, mostly lost to us. Generally, no links can be found (with some exceptions) between the decision to issue coinage and imperial visits or military movements. Some decisions may also have not had strictly economic reasons: Apollodotus, son of Diodorus, is recorded on an inscription as having set up a statue of the emperor (Antoninus Pius) at his own expense and having also minted coins (p. 124). Burnett wonders whether, like the statue, making coins with the emperor’s portrait may have been a way of honouring him.
The next chapter is focused on the Augustan age. Burnett traces the effects of the new political landscape through iconographic, material and economic activity. The addition of the imperial portrait to provincial coinage is interpreted as a spontaneous reaction to the new order, which took time to take hold across the empire. While portraits in the round followed a limited number of official patterns, provincial numismatic portraits are far more diverse (which can pose issues for identification and perhaps reflects the fact that numismatic portraits were not considered as important, despite their volume). The imperial period also saw a form of ‘Romanisation’ of provincial coinage in the East: coins got larger in diameter (reflecting the sestertii of Rome), Roman systems of account began to be used, and the Roman epigraphic habit began to have an influence, resulting in longer and more complex coin inscriptions. Reverse types became more varied, reflecting Roman minting practices, and new themes began to appear (e.g. architecture). These observations are supported by raw data drawn from the RPC database: Box 5.4, for example (p. 148), traces the increase in designs on provincial coins per year from 40 in the early first century to around 700 in the mid-third century AD. When Burnett turns to a consideration of the cessation of local minting in the West, he proposes that this should be understood as a cultural choice; those in the western Empire seem to have preferred to use Roman coins over local issues (provincial coinage in the West also copied Roman coinage before the cessation of minting).
Chapter 6 explores the developments of the second century AD, when there was an iconographic shift away from Rome towards local culture, e.g. via an increasing number of cities placing representations of their own demos and boule on coinage and a decline in the number of representations of the Roman Senate. As Burnett notes, ‘the coins show that Rome was coming to play a much lesser role in the minds of the city elites than their own internal affairs and legendary history’ (p. 176). The chapter also explores the end of small value denominations in the provinces, a phenomenon also known from the contemporary Roman issues, and thought to be connected to rising prices. But Burnett makes the astute observation that in Asia Minor very small coins continue to be made in appreciable quantities until the third century. This may perhaps be indicative of the fact that the monetary economy of the Roman Empire was becoming fragmented. Amidst this discussion of coin designs in this chapter there is a nice focus on the use of Greek and Latin and the decision of certain cities to switch between them.
The final chapter focuses on the third century. Burnett observes that this period sees a development in the representation of the emperor with a new fashion for showing him ‘in action’ (e.g. the addition of a raised right hand on some issues from the reign of Elagabalus). Burnett notes the insecurities of the period are reflected in the increasing number of defensive structures shown on coins (p. 232), as well as more emphatic claims overall (e.g. more emotional language is used). Although not all the catalogues for the RPC are yet published, the data to date shows that cities produced more coinages in the first half of the third century than they had previously, a trend mirrored by increased sestertius production at Rome at this time and once again demonstrating the connection between ‘imperial’ and ‘provincial’ monetary trends. Burnett presents the changes to denominations and standards that occur in this period and discusses the fashion for producing big, heavy coins (larger and heavier than any imperial coinage). The cessation of provincial coinage in the later third century is also explored: Burnett suggests this may have been a result of changes to the imperial monetary system (particularly debasement), and a gradual increase in prices. Burnett argues that the increase in the production of silver antoniniani, which were debased, would have led to a drop in the purchasing power of this specie and so bronze, fractional pieces of currency no longer provided a useful role.
Burnett covers an impressive period, utilising his knowledge of Roman Republican and imperial coinage to provide important contexts for the developments in the provinces. The result allows Burnett to trace broad developments and trends, offering an insight into the monetary history of the Roman world for both the beginner and those well versed in numismatics. As with other volumes in this series, the book is richly illustrated and amply provided with inset boxes that highlight coins or data of particular interest. This is the first volume in this series to have images in colour, which is a very welcome advance since it allows readers to better appreciate the different and changing metals of the coins. The result is an extremely useful book for students of both the Republican and imperial periods, offering clearly discussed numismatic data and connections to many key debates in Roman history including imperialism, the economy, the second sophistic, language, culture and the ‘Romanisation’ debate.