Roman Egypt and its Coinage: Dr. Irene Soto Marín
Dr. Soto Marín is Assistant Curator of Numismatics at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Michigan. Born and raised in Costa Rica, she obtained her BA from Barnard College, Columbia University and her MPhil and PhD from the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. She has been working at the site of Amheida in the Dakhleh Oasis of Egypt since 2008. Her research focuses on the economy of Roman and Late Roman Egypt. She has published on ceramics, taxes, coin molds, as well as edited some papyrological texts. She is currently working on her monograph project The Egyptian Emporium: The Economic Integration of a Late Roman Province.
Roman Egypt and its Coinage: Dr. Irene Soto Marín
Introduction
The speaker welcomes everyone to the event and introduces the president of RC Missouri, Stacy Davidson.
- The speaker welcomes everyone to the event.
- The recording is not being recorded.
- Stacy Davidson, the president of RC Missouri, is introduced.
Weather Update
The speaker talks about the weather and hopes that it's warming up where everyone else is.
- The speaker talks about how it has been ridiculous with regards to weather where they are located.
Event Introduction
The speaker introduces RC Missouri's second event and expresses excitement for it.
- The speaker mentions that they will get started in a few minutes to give people time to come in.
- They express excitement for their second RC Missouri event.
- They mention that they were excited about their first event as well as all future events.
About RC Missouri
Stacy Davidson provides an overview of what RC Missouri does and its mission statement.
- Stacy Davidson explains that RC Missouri is a chapter of American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE).
- She mentions that their mission is celebrating and sharing Egyptian culture and history from ancient through Islamic periods with communities in Missouri and neighboring areas.
- She explains that their virtual events expand programming beyond geographic areas, welcoming national and international attendees.
- Their mission includes outreach, education, providing a community for professionals/non-professionals of all ages to share knowledge/interest/love of Egypt.
- She mentions that RC Missouri provides free public outreach events, but some lectures/workshops/benefits are restricted to members.
- She encourages people to affiliate with their Kansas City, Missouri chapter if they want to be more involved in the organization.
Guest Speaker Introduction
The speaker introduces Dr. Erene Sotomarin as the guest speaker for the event.
- The speaker introduces Dr. Erene Sotomarin as the guest speaker for the event.
- They mention that she will be speaking about Roman Egypt and its coinage.
- They provide a brief overview of her background and research interests.
Dr. Erene Sotomarin's Lecture
Dr. Erene Sotomarin begins her lecture on Roman Egyptian coinage.
- Dr. Erene Sotomarin thanks everyone for attending her lecture on a Saturday afternoon and expresses gratitude towards RC Missouri for inviting her to speak at their event, which is officially her first midwestern lecture.
- She explains that the first part of her talk will be an introductory lecture on Roman Egyptian coinage, meant to help understand its characteristics and major trends before shifting focus to talk about Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and how coins from there are crucial in understanding aspects of monetary history during this period in Egypt's history beginning with Augustus' rule in 30 BCE.
Roman and Provincial Coinages
This section discusses the role of civic coinages or provincial coinages in the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. It also talks about two important scholarly resources for numismatics, namely, Roman Provincial Coinage and Roman Imperial Coin after Online Coins of the Roman Empire.
Role of Civic and Provincial Coinages
- Civic coinages or provincial coinages played an important role in the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire throughout the first 350 years.
- Egyptian province maintained a close currency system and used different denominations weight and even metal for its coinage.
- Not all cities in the roman empire had mints but most politically and economically important ones did before reorganization under Aurelian in third century CE.
Scholarly Resources for Numismatics
- Two important scholarly resources for numismatics are Roman Provincial Coinage and Roman Imperial Coin after Online Coins of the Roman Empire.
- The multivolume series of roman imperial coinage and roman provincial coinage catalogue coins to maintain the roman empire roughly from 30 BCE to fall of roman west in 491 CE.
- These works have become central to study chronology and typology of roman coins.
Early History of Coinage
This section discusses early history of world's first issued coins which were produced in Lydia or Ionia, Asia Minor. It also talks about how Alexander's conquest led to spread use of coins to non-Hellenic regions including Egypt.
Early History
- World's first issued coins were produced in Lydia or Ionia, Asia Minor during 7th century BCE.
- By mid 6th century BCE, use of coinage spread widely throughout the Greek city-states and colonies.
- Alexander's conquest led to spread use of coins to non-Hellenic regions including Egypt.
- Following Alexander's death in 323 BCE, three main Hellenistic kingdoms were established by early third century BCE.
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