Quintus Antonius Balbus \u2013 Serrated Denarius<\/b><\/b><\/p>\r\n
The term serratus<\/i> refers to the notched or serrated edge of the coin, somewhat like a saw \u2014 hence the name serratus<\/i>, which comes from the Latin serra<\/i> (meaning \u201csaw\u201d).<\/p>\r\n
Why were the edges serrated?<\/b><\/b><\/p>\r\n
There are several theories regarding the purpose of this feature:<\/p>\r\n
Counterfeit prevention:<\/b><\/b><\/p>\r\n
By serrating the edge, it became more difficult for counterfeiters to clip the coin (that is, to shave off small amounts of silver from the edge to melt and resell it), a fairly common practice at the time.<\/p>\r\n
Guarantee of purity:<\/b><\/b><\/p>\r\n
Displaying a worked or decorated edge could reassure users that the coin was made of solid silver, rather than being merely silver-plated.<\/p>\r\n
Aesthetic or distinctive mark:<\/b><\/b><\/p>\r\n
It may also have been a fashion or stylistic choice used during a certain period to stand out, or as a sign of prestige or innovation in coin minting.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Quintus Antonius Balbus \u2013 Serrated Denarius The term serratus refers to the notched or serrated edge of the coin, somewhat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36177,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[91,179],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-36174","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-antiques","product_cat-republique-romaine-antiques","pa_anneefrappe1-67-_83","pa_atelier-ee-rome","pa_gradage-non","pa_metal-b5-argent","pa_provenance-non","pa_qualite-cf-prsup","desktop-align-left","tablet-align-left","mobile-align-left","first","instock","sold-individually","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n