Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. 1: From 31 BC to AD 69

by Harold Mattingly (Editor), R.A.G. Carson, C.H.V. Sutherland

Dr CHV Sutherland was for many years Keeper of the Heberden Coin Room in the Ashmolean Museum, with a special interest in the Julio-Claudian emperors and their coinage from 31 BC to AD 69. From 1939 he was co-editor and part-author of Roman Imperial Coinage, successively, with Harold Mattingly and EA Sydenham, and with RAG Carson, devoting years to the fundamental revision and rewriting of Mattingley and Sydenham's original Volume I (1923) of the series, published in 1984. (NP) Sutherland's revised Volume I has been out of print now for some years, but his study of the Julio-Claudian coinage, being the formative period of the long imperial series, is made newly available by Spink in this handsome reprint.

Genres: Numismatics

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1999

About the author

Harold Mattingly was born 1884 in Sudbury, Suffolk and died in 1964 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire.

He was an historian of ancient Rome and numismatist; responsible for a total revision of the chronology and study of Roman coinage. Mattingly was educated at Lays School and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. An excellent student, he was awarded a Craven University scholarship and studied in Germany. He joined the British Museum in 1910 in the Department of Printed Books before moving to the Department of Coins and Medals. Initially he published on Roman history in general, issuing two books (1909 and 1914). During the First World War 1914-16 he served in active duty before reassignment to the Postal Censorship Bureau until 1918. Returning to the Museum after the war, Mattingly turned his interests to numismatics. He and D. S. G. Robinson (q.v.), also of the Department of Coins and Medals, set about in a series of paper disproving the traditional dating of the Roman denarius. Beginning in 1923, Mattingly began issuing his catalog, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, a systematic study of Roman coinage. The somewhat more synoptic Roman Imperial Coinage appeared at the same time. These works were a thorough account of the subject which laid the groundwork for archaeologist and field scholars.

Obituary: "Dr. Harold Mattingly, Distinguished Numismatist." The Times, February 1, 1964.

Reviews

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 11 volume work on Roman imperial coinage for every emperor. It's very expensive and I only own 4 volumes, pertaining to the emperors I specialize in. Another draw back is that the scholarship is very dated. Most of the volumes are pre-WWII, but are in the process of being revised. Unfortunately, one of the volumes I own, vol. 5, which covers Probus, contains many mistakes on obverse and reverse inscriptions. Also, the RIC rarity scale is dated as well. Still, for anyone who seriously collects Roman imperial silver and bronze, especially if they specialize in an emperor, this is a must have. (The Flavian emperors, Vol. 2, has been updated.)