Patterns in Die Axes on Roman Republican Silver Coinage

This paper aims to assert the significance of the determination of die axis for the understanding of silver coinage struck at Rome during the late Republic. Relying on an extensive dataset, it provides evidence that workers from the Roman Republican mint paid attention to aligning dies when striking coins, at least on some occasions. The links between patterns in die axis and other features of late Republican coinage such as serration, die marks, the size of issues and the choice of types are then investigated for the period running from the 150s to the 40s.