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Helps for Studying Coins in Perseus


Contents

The Basics
Coins in Perseus

The Basics . . .

  1. Each of the 5 major divisions of Perseus 1, or the 6 divisions of Perseus 2 opens by putting you into a finding aid -- a kind of index.

  2. Text files in Perseus are composed on HyperCard stacks, which you can imagine as a stack of 3 x 5 inch note cards. You can advance from one to the next by clicking on the right arrow in the navigator, or move back by the left arrow or the keyboard shortcut, command-~. This is true of all kinds of texts in Perseus, texts as diverse as:

  • Every object in the Art & Archaeology databases has two corresponding cards: the Summary Card and the Description Card by which it is accessed and indexed, and which identify and describe the corresponding object. These cards for vases are called Coin Summary Card and Coin Description Card.

  • You can toggle back and forth between Summary and Description Cards by clicking on the buttons marked "Description" and "Summary" in the upper right corner, top zone, of every card.

  • Every photograph is accompanied, when it first appears on the screen, by a small window with photo or drawing credits. Credits should be included in any student paper which reproduces photographs or drawings from Perseus. The window may be closed for unobstructed viewing of the image.

  • Remember, in Perseus you click only once to activate any option. If you click twice, the 2nd click may unintentionally initiate some procedure or open some file which you did not intend.

    Helps for study of Coins in Perseus

    The following useful helps and definitions regarding the information to be found on the Summary and Description Cards for Coins is adapted from Wendy Owens' Quick Start® Manual for Perseus, copies of which are available at the Computing Help Desk and the Computer Labs in Pettigrew Hall:
    Collection
    This tells you where the coin may be found. It is in most cases a museum (ex: the Bowdoin College Museum of Art), but sometimes a private collection (ex: The Dewing Collection). The Collection and the catalog number of the particular item occur in the top zone, left side, of both Summary and Description cards.

    Metal
    Ancient Greek coins could be made of gold, silver, bronze or electrum (an alloy of gold and silver, light yellow in color). Coins were usually made of the metal(s) that were most readily available in the region where the coin was minted.

    Denomination
    This is the class or kind of coin named for its value in the region(s) that used it. Denominations include: daric, decadrachm, diobol, distater, drachm, hecte, hexas, litra, obol, onkia, siglos, shekal stater, trite, and more.

    Weight
    How much the coin weighs in grams

    Die Axis
    This is the degree coordinate for the tool used for shaping and punching coin metal relative to the axis of the coin. Distinctions among coins bearing the same imprint pattern can be made by comparing the die axes.

    Mint
    Identification of the place in which the coin was minted.

    Authority
    Identification of the figure or agency by whose authority the coin was minted. This space is often blank.

    Date
    Exact or approximate (ca.) date when the coin was minted.

    Obverse and Reverse
    The two sides of the coin, corresponding to what we call heads and tails.

    Advance to:
  • Historical Overview
  • Tools & References
  • Atlas
  • Primary Sources (i.e., editions of classical Greek literature)

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    Last Updated: January 4, 1999

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