09617 - Greek and Roman Numismatics

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to use the large amount of information provided by the numismatic evidence in order to analyze and reconstruct historical and archaeological contexts. Furthermore, students will obtain all the critical skills necessary to interpretation of the symbolic value of ancient coin types. Students will learn how to identify ancient Greek and Roman coins.

Course contents

The course aims to outline the history of ancient Greek and Roman coinage, paying particular attention to the iconography of coin types in different historical periods.

The following topics will be covered during the course:

• Characteristics and contents of the discipline.
• Coins as archaeological data and historical sources.
• Coinage in ancient world: features and functions.
• Outlines of Greek and Roman numismatics.
• Identification and classification of numismatic evidence.
• Oniline resources for Numismatics.
  
• Topic-in-focus: “Women on coins from Late Republican to Early Imperial age”.

Readings/Bibliography

The following texts are mandatory for the preparation of the exam

Attending students:

Textbook

• F. Barello, Archeologia della moneta. Produzione e utilizzo nell'antichità, Roma, 2006.

Articles (topic-in-focus)

• A.L. Morelli, L’iconografia della mater nella monetazione romana imperiale, in R. Pera (a cura di), Il significato delle immagini. Numismatica, arte, filologia, storia, Atti del secondo incontro internazionale di studio del Lexicon Iconographicum Numismaticae (Genova, 10-12 novembre 2005), Roma, 2012, pp. 263-293.
  

• C. Perassi, Ritratti monetali delle Augustae nel III secolo d.C. Una crisi di genere?, in Un confronto drammatico con il XXI secolo: l’Impero romano del III secolo nella crisi monetaria, Atti del Convegno (Biassono, 9 giugno 2012), Biassono, 2014, pp. 193-232.

Further reading for non attending-students:

• E. Filippini, Imagines aureae. Le emissioni in oro di Giulia Domna, in A.L. Morelli, I. Baldini Lippolis (a cura di), Oreficeria in Emilia Romagna. Archeologia e storia tra età romana e medioevo, Bologna, 2010, pp. 79-96.

All bibliographic resources are available on the platform virtuale.unibo.it.

Teaching methods

• Frontal lessons.
• Practical exercises: identification and cataloging of ancient coins.
• Optional visit to the coin cabinet of the National Museum of Ravenna, with direct observation of specimens from the numismatic collection.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

The final exam will be conducted orally and will assess the students' knowledge of the program contents, based on the bibliographic material indicated above.

Students will be asked to provide an organic view of the topics developed during the course, making connections between them and showing the ability to analyze and interpret the acquired data.

In particular, each student will be asked two questions aimed at assessing basic knowledge of numismatics (textbook by F. Barello). A third question will regard one of the articles included in the specific bibliography of the course (topic-in-focus' articles).

• Top marks will be awarded to students displaying their ability to use the numismatic evidence as a source for historical reconstruction, combined with a critical approach to the discipline and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology.
• Fair marks will be awarded to students demonstrating a mnemonic knowledge of the subject, combined with a correct, but not always appropriate, command of the field-specific language.
• A pass mark (or just above) will be assigned to students showing a superficial knowledge of the material, in addition to a scarce analytical and expressive ability in the discussion of the topics examined.
• Students will be deemed to have failed the exam if they display significant gaps in their understanding of the subject, in addition to a partial and inadequate knowledge of the bibliography, and/or together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Students won't be admitted to the oral exam if they don't prepare all texts.

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the A.Y. 2024/2025:

- January 2025 (for students in debt of exam);
- February  2025 (for students in debt of exam);
- March  2025 (for students in debt of exam);
- May (for all students);
- June 2025 (for all students);
- July 2025 (for all students);
- September 2025 (for students in debt of exam);
- October 2025 (for students in debt of exam);
- November 2025 (for students in debt of exam).

 

Teaching tools

• PowerPoint presentations of the topics covered in class.
• Use of traditional tools and online resources for numismatic research.

All support material for learning is available on the platform virtuale.unibo.it.

N.B.: students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific disorders (SLD), must first contact office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students.

Office hours

See the website of Erica Filippini