Billon

Abstract: A number of coins of Hindu Shahis Dynasty of Kabul (990–1015 A.D.) have been analysed using proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique. The 3 MeV proton beam from the Pelletron Accelerator at the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India was used for the production of X-rays. The X-rays were detected by Si(Li) detector ( FWHM=180 eV at 5.9 keV) placed at 90° to the beam direction. For the reliable calibration of the analytical system, thin foils of Micromatter standards of Fe, CuS, KCl, and RbNO 3 were used. The computer code GUPIX was employed to get concentration of trace elements in these coins. The elements Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, As, Sb, Pb, and Bi were detected in these coins alongwith the major component of Cu and Ag. The coins were classified in two groups, coins no. 3, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 as copper or billon coins having major component of copper, while coins no. 6, 17, 20, 21, 22 as silver coins having the major component of silver. The first group seems to belong to lower denomination while the other group belongs to higher denomination coins. There is a strong positive correlation between lead and zinc and also a strong negative correlation between copper and silver. The weight of coins varied between 3.05 and 3.39 gram. The comparison of our results with that of the ores of various mines indicates that the source of copper in these coins is from Khetri mine in Rajasthan. Silver seems to come from Afghanistan since it is not reported to occur as a primary mineral in ancient India.

Abstract: The original edition of this volume was published by Seaby thirty-six years ago and has been through three revisions (1970, 1974, and 1981) The only one-volume price guide to the coinage of Republican and Imperial Rome It is an indispensable listing of all major types of gold, silver and bronze, issued over some seven hundred and fifty years by the greatest militaristic state the world has ever known Over 4,300 coins are included with detailed description and valuations and all major and minor personalities are listed by means of their portrait coins This fourth revised edition takes note of recent work in the field, especially that of Professor Michael Crawford

Abstract: PrefaceThe world of the Greeks spread from Spain to India and from Russia to Egypt. Within this wide geographical span coinage was issued by empires and minor monarchies and by large and small city states, leaving for us today a bewildering array of little objects in a variety of metals and sizes. This slim book has arranged the material so that the collector and the student will have an overview of the development of this monetary medium placed within the cultural spheres in which coins originated.There is a fascination exerted by these objects out of all proportion to their size, and the reader is here introduced to some of the facets of the interest engendered by coins. Every coin that has survived is part of history. Each coin was made for a purpose and the devices placed upon it were consciously chosen to express the authority of the issuer. Through these myriad designs we can look back into the Greek world to search for the stories behind the coins and for the people who made and used them.

Abstract: This volume catalogues over 16,577 identifiable Greek coins produced by the excavations of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens between 1931 and 1990. The majority of the coins found and catalogued are Athenian bronze, from the 4th century B.C. through the 3rd century A.D. Included as well are the Athenian silver and the hundreds of non-Athenian gold, silver, and bronze coins that made their way into the Agora in antiquity Considerable attention is paid to the archaeological context of the coins and to presenting a pictorial record of the Greek coinage from the Agora, with more than 1,035 coins illustrated. Substantial introductory discussions place all the coins in clear historical and numismatic contexts and give a sense of the range of international commercial activity in the ancient city. This comprehensive reference work is indispensable for students and scholars of Greek coinage and history. Presenting a reliable chronology of Athens' bronze coinage for the first time, it will be the standard reference for this important coinage in particular for years to come.