Roman Countermarked Coins

I have accumulated a few countermarked coins. Coins were countermarked to either to extend their life once they were worn, to re-assign value or issuing authority. This assured the public that these coins were still legal tender and could be used. I find them interesting because I can imagine each coin being examined and countermarked. It offers a vivid picture of the coins history, and the people who handled it. I have much to learn about them, as there doesn't seem to be many affordable references for countermarks. If you know of any please E-MAIL me.

	AE 21 host coin (21mm,9.39 grams) Obv: countermarked with TICAE AVG and a Helmet most likely from the Moesia Region. The TICAE is probably for Tiberius Caesar the AVG for Augustus I'm not sure what the Helmet means Rev:Dolphin symbol. I'm not sure the meaning of that symbol.

	AE As of Claudius (28mm, 10.98g) Obv: NCAPR countermark usually attributed to Nero, but could possibly be Nerva. NCAPR means either "Nero Caesar Augustus Probavit" which means roughly "by the approval of Nero Claudius Avguvstvs" The other possibility is "Nero Ceasar Augustus Populi Romani" or roughly "From Nero Caesar Augustus to the Roman People"

	AE22 (22mm 11.90g) Provincial coin of Domitian Obv has a head in and incuse rectangle. This is often refered to as Hadrians Head and is sometimes attributed to Legion XII

The information for the above coins came from a couple of very well done websites dealing with Roman Countermarks. I have listed the links to then below, check them out!!

ANCIENT COIN CLUB OF LOS ANGELES They have an article dealing with countermarks written by Richard Baker, well worth the read.

Museum of Countermarks on Roman Coins The best spot on the web I have found to search for countermarks. check it out.

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