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On the comparative study of three silver coins of the IIIrd century B.C. minted in Korkyra, Dyrrachion and by the Illyrian king Monounios

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Abstract

The microstructure of three silver coins dating back to the IIIrdcentury B.C. from the Illyrian King Monounios, the ancient Greek city of Dyrrachion and the ancient Greek city of Korkyra was studied with XRF, PIXE, microhardness measurements, and light and electron microscopy. From this investigation it turned out that these coins have different chemical compositions and different microstructures. The as-collected data allow the determination of a possible minting method. The Korkyra coin was probably hot-worked or cold-worked and annealed, while after cooling, it was cold-worked again. The coin of King Monounios is composed by equi-axed grains which are overrun by slip lines. Consequently it is likely that this coin was casted and then cold-struck. Finally the coin from Dyrrachion is characterized by small-sized grains and strain lines and as a result this coin was probably cold-struck.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

    N. Pistofidis, G. Vourlias, E. Pavlidou, G. Stergioudis & E.K. Polychroniadis

  2. Department of Physics, FNSc, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

    T. Dilo, I. Prifti & O. Bilani

  3. Department of Spectroscopy, Institute of Nuclear Physics, Tirana, Albania

    N. Civici

  4. Laboratory of Restoration and Archaeometry, Institute of Popular Culture, Tirana, Albania

    F. Stamati

  5. Department of Antiquity, Institute of Archaeology, Tirana, Albania

    S. Gjongecaj

Authors
  1. N. Pistofidis
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  2. G. Vourlias
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  3. E. Pavlidou
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  4. T. Dilo
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  5. N. Civici
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  6. F. Stamati
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  7. S. Gjongecaj
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  8. I. Prifti
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  9. O. Bilani
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  10. G. Stergioudis
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  11. E.K. Polychroniadis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to E.K. Polychroniadis.

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PACS

07.60.Pb; 78.70.En; 68.37.Ef; Hk; Lp; Nq; 61.66.Bi; 61.72.Mm

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Pistofidis, N., Vourlias, G., Pavlidou, E. et al. On the comparative study of three silver coins of the IIIrd century B.C. minted in Korkyra, Dyrrachion and by the Illyrian king Monounios. Appl. Phys. A 83, 637–642 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-006-3528-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-006-3528-x

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