Disjecta membra. Engravings with Numerals on Roman Bronze Coins and Tesserae from the 4th Century AD

The following presents a group of Roman bronze coins issued during the fourth century AD, which were later repurposed by engraving a large–sized Roman numeral on their reverses. Similar engravings also occur on two Roman provincial coins of the principate as well as on a handful of Roman tesserae from the fourth century, which are presented here for completeness as they are relatable to the same conversion pattern and phenomenon. The contribution is divided into four parts: the first gives a presentation of the materials and summarises their status quaestionis; an identification of the coin series to which these pieces formerly belonged is proposed in the second part through analysis of the types displayed on their obverses; the third section deals with the numeral incisions on the reverses and identifies the specimens which form part of the same ensemble; finally, a possible affiliation of the numeral marks and their inherent purpose is suggested in the fourth part.