The following links offer useful information about identifying Roman coins. NOTE: Much of the information on this page is provided by ancient coin dealers. The links here are meant to provide convenient access to materials useful to students and teachers using Roman coins; they should not be interpreted as recommendations of the particular dealers involved.
 
 

INFORMATION ABOUT ROMAN COINS ON THE WEB:

Bearers of Meaning - The Ottilia Buerger Collection of Ancient and Byzantine Coins at Lawrence University. Carol L. Lawton, Curator and Editor. 

An excellent site with good images and full information about coins and their historical context. Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coins are included. The following essays may be especially helpful to users of this site: 

The Production of Ancient Coins, by Jere M. Wickens 

Roman Coins and Roman History, by Daniel J. Taylor 

Eight Hundred Years of Roman Coinage, by David R. Sear. 

Most articles are listed on the Articles page, but this essay needs to be known to all. 

American Numismatic Society and Harry Bass Research Foundation Searchable Resources 

A searchable index of Roman coins. Extensive. Extremely useful! 

Roman Coins of the Early Empire, by Tim Ryan. 

This is a "must see" page from his well-known Dead Romans site. 

Doug Smith's Ancient Greek & Roman Coins Numismatic Topics from One Collector's Point of View 

Perhaps the most informative site dedicated to Roman and Greek coins, constructed by a dedicated collector. There are too many useful links to connect all of them here. You'll have to visit the site and see them for yourself. Two important pages for students working with coins from the empire and especially the time of Constantine are: 

Roman Imperial Coin Denominations 

Common Constantinian Copper 

Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. 

A very fine dealer site with extensive archives of high quality, informative articles. Highly recommended for those who wish to learn more about ancient coins. May need a free membership to access some features; archive searching is free. 

Barry and Darling Ancient Coins. Kevin Barry and John Darling. 

This is a dealer site with several pages of useful information about ancient coins: 

Title, Title, Who's Got The Title? Roman Titles As They Appear On Coins - useful discussion of titles on Roman coins and list of titles and their abbreviations 

Tongue Twisters: Roman and Greek Pronunciation Guide - for words associated with ancient coins 

Great Caesars Ghost Mythology and Personifications of Rome and Greece - identify goddesses and gods 

By Their Names, You Shall Know Them. Roman Names As They Appear On Coins 

I Know Its Trying To Tell Me Something.... Common Inscriptions With Translations - helpful when trying to identify inscriiptions 

Mints and Their Marks: Common Mint Marks - for Roman coins of the third and fourth centuries A.D. 

Ancient Coin University 

This is part of a dealer site, Pieces of Time, by T. E. Bray. Especially useful are the following: 

Mint Marks from the Age of Constantine - how to identify where the coins were made (minted) 

The Anatomy of an Attribution - how to identify coins using print resources 

Quadriga Coins 

This is dealer site by educator Kevin Colosa. The following links provide good information for students and teachers: 

Ancient Coins - Glossary of Terms - useful guide to the terms used with coins (AE, AR, follis, etc.) 

Roman Coin Denominations - Relative Sizes - visual comparison of coins with modern United States coinage 

FORVM ANCIENT COINS 

Joseph Sermarini is the proprietor of FORVM and is developing a very useful tool, called, 

FORVM's Roman Coin Attribution Assist System which will help you attribute coins by typing in a few letters of the legend. 

Ancient Roman and Greek Coins, FAQ. 

A useful question and answer site with some wide-ranging questions, by Warren Esty. 

Legends on Roman Coins 

Monetary History of the World 

A useful site about the history of money around the world. Many of the emperors in the VCRC will be found under the Roman section of this site. Information by Martin A. Armstrong, © Princeton Economic Institute. 

Medieval Coins: Jim's Medieval Coins - Virtual Tour 

An instructive site and tour of Jim's medieval coin collection. 

MISCELLANEOUS: 

AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY 

The foremost numismatic research institution in the United States. The ANS maintains one of the largest coin cabinets in the world with nearly one million objects. 

The Roman Coin Cabinet - Curated by William E. Metcalf 

Roman Numismatic Bibliography, by William E. Metcalf 

American Numismatic Association 

The largest professional association for coin dealers, " a nonprofit, educational organization chartered by Congress -- ...dedicated to the collection and study of coins, paper money, tokens and medals, and ... created for the benefit of its members and the numismatic community." 

ANA Education Department - good programs to promote numismatic study 

Numismatics and the Olympic Games 

Gods, Games, Kings and Coins: Money of the Ancient Olympiads 

The Celator 

A monthly journal devoted to ancient numismatics (Greece, Near East, Rome). A useful source of information for teachers, students, and collectors. Edited and produced by Wayne G. Sayles. 

The Learning Place - links to other sites with quality information about ancient coins 

ANCIENT COINS & MODERN FAKES: How To Tell The Difference. An Authentication Primer 

Useful information for those considering purchasing coins. By Dennis J. Kroh. 

Impero on the Web 

Italian and English web site "for numismatic amateurs who are interested in the roman empire and republic period!" By Carlo Paolantoni. Still being constructed. 

History of Money from Ancient Times to the Present Day 

Online version of a book by Glyn Davies.