History of the coinage of the Akassumite kings in late antiquityW. Hahn and R. Keck
Vienna 2020
ISBN 978-3-9504268-0-9
Format 21.5 x 30.5 cm
312 pages
20 plates
€ 58.00

As a result of decades of preparatory work, the two authors present a comprehensive coin history of the ancient Ethiopian empire of Aksum, which is based on an intensive collection of materials from all relevant sources. It is only a comparatively small area in the late antique coin landscape, so to speak, a monetary island on the southern edge of the world known at that time, but which was on a main trade route to India. The coins were not only used for royal representation. Their temporal extension runs parallel to the Roman coins of the emperors Diocletianus to Heraclius, to which there are some cross-connections.

The material basis is a piece corpus of 1466 gold and 2176 silver coins with a stamp-critical and quantity-statistical evaluation; account will also be taken of the less suitable copper coins, which are often poorly preserved but have been preserved in large numbers. Metrological and metallurgical analyzes expand the evidence. The typological development is expanded in a comprehensive comment section, which brings some new dating approaches; the 95 main types, descriptive catalog is embedded in it. These are divided into 20 named, mostly otherwise unknown, kings.

The catalog takes into account additional character and legend variants and is accompanied by idealized line drawings in the (relatively small) original size, while 20 color plates in 1, 5x magnification also reflect the stylistic spread. Special appendices provide statistical overviews, aspects of counterfeiting problems and information on money transactions, ie on the spread of finds of the Aksumite coins in general, as well as of foreign coins in the Ethiopian area.

For more information, or to order, see:
Veröffentlichungen des Instituts (VIN) vin21(https://numismatik.univie.ac.at/forschung/publikationen/veroeffentlichungen-des-instituts-vin/vin21/)

To read the complete CoinsWeekly article, see:
In the Aksumite Empire(https://coinsweekly.com/in-the-aksumite-empire/)