The anatomy of Roman coin legend
(aka: All those letters!!)

OK....I've bought a Roman coin, but I have a question. What the heck do all those silly letters mean?

One of the stumbling blocks that new collectors of ancient coins often find is the difficulty of interpreting what all the "stuff" on the coin means. Hopefully, this page may serve to dispel some of the mystery of ancient coin terminology.

While this is not as difficult as it may seem, it does take some practice, but with time, you too will be able to pick up a coin, and declare with great authority:

"Ah yes. That is a coin of the emperor Flavius Flatulus, struck when he was consul for the third time!".

I'll bet you can hardly wait to inflict all your new-found knowledge on your dinner guests, so lets get started....

Because the Roman emperor often carried several titles, the celators that carved dies used to create the coins were forced to used abbreviations in order for the entire legend to fit on the flan of the coin. By using abbreviations, they were able to fit an amazing amount of information in a relatively small space.

An example

The obverse of a Roman coin (the "front" or "heads")usually has a portrait of the emperor, as well as a "legend", or the letters surrounding the picture.

In the picture above, I've inserted some red lines to break up the legend, so what at first appears as: IMPLICI NIVSAVG

can now be read as:IMP LICINIVS AVG

Which translates as:

IMP = "Imperator" (The supreme military commander)
LICINIVS = "Licinius" (The name of the emperor)
AVG = "Augustus" (Literally: "Revered One").

Now....wasn't that easy??

Although it takes some practice, once you learn where the breaks in the legend belong, you are well on your way to mastering the mysteries of reading Roman coins : )

The chart below lists some of the more common abbreviations used in Roman legends.

AVG, AVGVSTVS
Augustus. The title bestowed on the emperor. (Literally: "Revered One")
C, CAES, CAESAR
A generic term for the emperor. Sometimes used to designate the heir-apparent. Under the Tetrarchy, used to designate the junior Emperor.
CENS,
CENSOR
A temporary official duty, which allowed the holder to determine the composition of the Roman senate
COS, C
Consul. One of the two chief magistrates. When combined with a number (ie: COS V), it indicates that the emperor received the title for the 5th time.
D N
Dominus Noster. "Our Lord"
DIVI, DIVO
Divine. Issued posthumously, it declared that the person had been deified.
FIL
Filius. "Son of..."
IMP
Imperator. Leader of the army
IVN
Iuventis. Junior. 
NOB
Nobilissimus. Noble
OPTIMO
The highest, or the best
PERP
Perpetuatae. For life
P F
Pius Felix. Dutiful and wise
PM, PONT MAX
Pontifex Maximus. The chief priest
P P 
Pater Patriae. Father of his country
PRINCIPI
Princeps. Prince
S C
Senatus Consultus. "With the agreement of the Senate"
TR P, TR POT
Tribunicia Potestate. The civil head of state. As with COS, a number following indicates the number of times that the title was bestowed. (ie: TR P IIII = Tribunicia Potestate for the 4th time)
BRIT, DAC, GERM, PART, etc.
Britianicus, Dacicus, Germanicus, Parthicus. "conqueror of....." (ie: "We beat up on the Germans again")

OK, ready for another test?

The legend reads:

IMPNEROCAESARAVGPMAXTRPPP

Applying our new skills, we divide the legend up as follows:

IMP NERO CAESAR AVG P MAX TR P P P

Which translates as: "Imperator Nero Caesar Augustus Pontifix Maximus Tribunicia Potestate Pater Patriae"

or: "The Head of the Army, Nero, of the Julio-Claudian line, emperor, chief priest, Head of State, and Father of his Country"

Whew! All that, and just on the obverse of the coin. No wonder they used abbreviations!

Copyright © 2003 - Steve Niederloh
All Rights Reserved
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