Metalla
Metalla is a modern term for a special form of small Roman coins formerly known as mining tokens, which were minted in the period from Trajan to Antoninus Pius .
On the obverse there is either the head of the emperor, that of the goddess Roma, or one of the metal gods: Apollo for gold, Diana for silver, Mars for iron and Venus for copper. On the lapel there is the personification of Aequitas , a woman with ears of wheat or a shell, plus an inscription that can be metalli Ulpiani , m (etalli) Dalm (atici) or Pann (onici) and similar. However, only Illyrian mines are mentioned. On some coins you can find SC , which means that this was an urban Roman coin.
Contrary to earlier assumptions, these coins did not only circulate in mines, but at least in Rome and Italy. The inscriptions on the lapel possibly indicate that the mines, which used to be run by independent tenants, were taken over by the emperors.
literature
- Kurt Regling : Metalla 3) . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XV, 2, Stuttgart 1932, column 1322 f.
- Gerd Stumpf: Metalla [2] , In: Der Neue Pauly Vol. 8 (2000), Col. 68