Coins are a valuable tool for understanding the Ancient World, as they combine visual images and epigraphy. This is the latest volume in a series of books designed to promote numismatics as a framework for reconstructing the past. The author could not be better qualified. Andrew Burnett was Deputy Director of the British Museum until 2013 and has been the President of the Royal Numismatic Society. The scope of this volume is vast and ambitious, covering the period from 300 BCE to 300 CE, and analysing patterns in provincial coinage from the Punic Wars to the Decline of Roman Influence in the Third Century. Burnett’s command of the subject matter is both impressive and highly accessible.

The book starts with a general overview of silver, gold and bronze coinage during the period. We often forget that Rome was a small village and grew to control a vast Empire. When we speak of ‘Roman coins’, it is easy to assume that there was always a centralised mint in Rome that imposed coinage on provinces. Burnett demonstrates that coinage evolved from bronze currency bars, which were used in a weight-based economy.

The Second Punic War, from 218 to 201 BCE, necessitated the production of more coinage to fund military campaigns, prompting Rome to introduce the popular silver denarius around 211 BCE. As Spanish silver mines came under Roman control, the empire could expand its minting capacity. After the defeat of Carthage in 146 BCE, the city was no longer able to mint coins, as the Romans asserted their political dominance. This was a rare example of Rome deliberately imposing its dominance on a territory. Elsewhere, Rome did not abolish local coinage but adopted a pragmatic and flexible approach. During the second century in the East (Greece, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt), local cities were allowed to continue to mint their own coins, and a Greek style continued for centuries, echoing local deities or imagery, gradually starting to be influenced by Roman symbols. In the West, those areas which had been conquered by Carthage and came under Roman control saw Roman silver denarii and bronze coins take over.

The aftermath of the Punic Wars created a need for Rome to assert its control over Western territories that had been loyal to Carthage. In the West, Julius Caesar fought campaigns in Hispania (Spain), and his victories there saw an influx of gold coinage, which was used to pay troops, fund political campaigns and showcase his personal power. Unusually, Julius Caesar placed his own portrait on a coin together with the legend “DICT PERPETVO (“dictator in perpetuity”). In the Republican period, coinage typically featured personifications (Roma, Victory, etc), Deities (Jupiter, Venus, Mars) and mythological ancestors of Roman families (Mark Antony had Hercules on some of his coins). By placing a living head upon a coin, Julius Caesar was breaking with precedent – a few weeks later, he was dead! This did start a trend for living individuals to appear on coins – Brutus and Cassius imitated this on their own ‘libertas’ coin. By the reign of Augustus, this was becoming the norm on coinage, and so many of the political figures we know so well appear on coinage – Augustus, Agrippa and Marcellus. These figures are commonly depicted on coins, particularly in the Greek East. Around this time, women also appear on coins. Fulvia appears alongside Mark Antony, Julia alongside Gaius and Lucius. Interestingly, Livia only appears on coins in the provinces, particularly in the Greek East. It was Augustus who tried to standardise the monetary system, setting a gold aureus at 25 denarii and introducing brass (orichalcum) coins such as the sestertius and dupondius to expand the bronze coinage system. His descendant, Nero, introduced more reforms to address silver shortages, stabilise the economy and increase state revenue amid rising financial pressures. To do so, he recalled older silver coins and reminted them with his name on them. He also moved the main gold mint from Lugdunum (Lyon) back to Rome, reinforcing central authority over coin production. By the time of Nero, coins bore clear imperial imagery. Nero’s Principate was followed by a time of instability, although Hadrian and Domitian did try to restore coin quality and coordinate minting Empire-wide. By the third century CE, the empire faced debasement of coinage, fragmentation of minting, inconsistent standards in coinage and the loss of small denominations due to inflation. Caracalla introduced a new coin, the antoninianus, to try to counter this, supposedly meant to be worth two denarii, but it contained only about 1.5 denarii’s worth of silver. Aurelian and Diocletian attempted to restabilise the monetary system, but with 25 emperors over 50 years from 235 to 305 CE, the Empire fragmented, and cities began treating Rome as though they were a distant ally. The story of provincial coinage did not end with abrupt collapse, but a gradual decline as civic mints lost autonomy, giving way by the late third century to a system in which coin production remained geographically widespread but was centrally controlled by the imperial administration

Given the scope and breadth of the topic, Burnett writes with clarity. His writing is never inaccessible, although it is academic. His text is accompanied by a visual delight: illustrations of coins, inscriptions and symbols help readers synthesise information. There are chronological surveys, maps, regional case studies, tables and summaries. Each section builds on the last, and information is never repetitive. In short, this is a work of exceptional depth and refinement, shaped by years of meticulous scholarship and profound expertise. At the same time, I was aware that the knowledge we currently have about this topic is fragile and ever changing; new archaeological digs or the discovery of a new coin hoard will add more nuance and understanding. In short, Burnett has provided an essential and visually engaging book that shows the complexity of Roman provincial coinage. This fascinating book reveals the growth and decline of Rome and its Empire, not as a single, unified power, but as a complex blend of local cultures, imperial control and economic shifts, told through its coins.