Rome and the Germans as seen in coinage: Catalog for the exhibition

by Thomas S. Burns

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[William Razavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here's a volume that punches above its weight as a catalog for a museum exhibition that happened back in the 1980s because the introduction serves as a very timely essay on the way in which an imperial power relates to the "other" on its frontiers. (Apropos of the other frontier book that I read along with this.)
And while the exhibit's focus was on the Germans as the "other" in question, both the introduction and the actual exhibit included representations of other "others" as it were to provide context and comparison for the representation of Germans and Germany in Roman coinage.
What this book managed to evoke was a reminder that Rome's "crisis at the border" was a result of its own imperial expansions--an idea maybe we need to take a closer look at.
All the images are in black and white, so not always the best to look at. The information for the coins is well organized and no glaring errors and takes us from the Republic all the way through the end of the Empire.