Coin moulds of the 3rd century in the collections of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz

Abstract

The 43 coin moulds from the collection of the RGZM were used to cast denarii of the period from Antoninus Pius to Caracalla (141-217). They belong to a larger assemblage of coin moulds which came to light before 1950 at an unknown site. The composition of other forgers’ mould finds from the western provinces shows that the main casting phase of the Antonine and the Severan dynasties occurred between 240 and 270. The moulds from the RGZM, too, which do not reflect a fair picture of the original inventory, could date to this period. The counterfeiters took advantage of the end of the regular minting of denarii after 240 and concentrated more on casting these coins with a copper-tin alloy with silver appearance. As denarii became rarer around
260-270, the forgers more and more took the antoninianus coined in large numbers in the official mints as a model. During the great inflation period of the 270ies coin forgery seems to have decreased in favour of the production of imitations. The abundant coinage of imitations of antoniniani was meant to cover the increased need of coins.