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The Roman Monetary Economy in Bithynia during the second half of the first century BC. The case of Nicomedia

2015; Society for the Advancement of Philological and Historical Studies; Volume: 93; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3406/rbph.2015.8646

2295-9068

Hale Güney,

Classical Antiquity Studies

Located at the heart of Turkey’s industrial region today, eastern Marmara region also had a significant economic role during the Roman Period. This region was bequeathed to Rome by the last king of the Bithynian Kingdom in c. 75-74 BC and it became a new province. The first regular governor known in the province of Bithynia is C. Papirius Carbo who exclusively issues bronze coins in the Bithynian cities : Amastris, Amisus, Apameia, Bithynium, Nicaea, Nicomedia, Prusias ad Olympium, and Tium. Based on the number of coins which are survived, it can be said that the largest number of coins seems to have been minted in Nicomedia. Moreover, these coins are exclusively dated to the last year of Carbo’s office, which is 59-58 BC. The aim of this study is to define the scale of the coins issued by Carbo in Nicomedia in 59-58 BC, and to reveal the operation of coinage during this period. The main questions addressed in this paper are : a) why did Carbo issue bronze coins ; b) was the coinage voluminous ? and c) how did the monetary economy operate e. g. the currency for high-value transactions, in Bithynia during the second half of the first century BC ? A die study of bronze coins involving Carbo’s emissions in Nicomedia was done in order to answer the question of how many dies were used, and therefore how many coins were produced. As a result, this study contributes to the current knowledge of the Roman monetary economy in Bithynia during the second half of the first century BC.