| The majority of novice coin collectors find it | | | | For decades, roman citizens relied on barter |
| tough to comprehend or interpret the words | | | | system that involved the exchange of goods. |
| letters on ancient Roman coins. This happens | | | | Such a system worked pretty well in quite simple |
| because the carved celators used for creating | | | | society dealing primarily within local levels. |
| these coins used complex ellipsis for | | | | Villages at that era were relatively small and |
| accommodating lengthy legendary depictions onto | | | | involved massive scale of trading from side to |
| the flans. Interestingly, the use of abbreviations | | | | side among themselves. Nevertheless, when the |
| led them to fit an astonishing amount of info in an | | | | society grew larger and more complex, and since |
| unbelievably confined space. | | | | trading over bigger areas became common, the |
| Many people believe that coins had to play a | | | | Roman Empire came to realize the need of |
| central role in distributing news or info to a large | | | | consistent system to facilitate trading and other |
| population suffering the curse of illiteracy. The | | | | economic affairs. |
| civilians of Rome along with those in adjacent | | | | The making of these coins |
| provinces probably didn't know how to read. | | | | These coins were made of special metal plates |
| However, they could send messages from one | | | | onto which coins were stamped. Sometimes |
| place to the other with coins - thus they were as | | | | these metals were rolled into sheets. And there |
| good as any written words. | | | | were times when these metals were stamped |
| By encrypting visual courier messages onto coins, | | | | onto round blanks. |
| the then Roman rulers used to convey | | | | Some coins were made by pouring into coin |
| semi-concealed ideas to common civilians. These | | | | molds. The dies that were used for producing |
| messages sometimes meant to warn people or | | | | these coins were probably created by engraving |
| get them obedient to imperial authority. | | | | some sort of makeshift image onto iron. |