Gautamiputra Sri Satakarni overstruck on a coin of Nahapana

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inc ...

, an overstrike describes a situation in which an existing coin rather than a blank is struck with a new design. This practice is now obsolete and generally occurred for two purposes. Overstriking was sometimes done for technical reasons when a first strike is unsatisfactory, or accidentally if the blank slips out of place or if the

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judder, resulting in a slight doubling of the design. However, sometimes old or worn coins were overstruck with new designs by later rulers or foreign states. In the ancient world, use of overstrikes was not uncommon, since the manufacture of

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was resource consumptive; thus a foreign or outdated coin could be overstruck with less investment than new mintage. Evidence of overstriking appears as early as about 500 BC when coins of

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island an ...

were overstruck by the ancient city of

Kydonia Kydonia or Cydonia (; grc, Κυδωνία; lat, Cydonia) was an ancient city-state on the northwest coast of the island of Crete. It is at the site of the modern-day Greek city of Chania. In legend Cydonia was founded by King Cydon (), a son ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. In this case and many others, the overstrike can be a valuable aid to dating an ancient coin, an era when dates were not commonly affixed to the design.M.Crawford, 1983 Due to a shortage of silver the mint of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

used Spanish silver dollars in the early 19th century, and overstruck the king's image and legends on them.

Line notes

Reference sources

* Michael Crawford, Emilio Gabba, Fergus Millar and Anthony M. Snodgrass (1983) ''Sources for Ancient History'', Cambridge University Press, 250 pages * C. Michael Hogan, ''Cydonia'', Modern Antiquarian, Jan 23, 200

* Otto Mørkholm, Philip Grierson and Ulla Westermark (1991) ''Early Hellenistic Coinage'', Cambridge University Press, 273 pages

External links

Overstrike (numismatics)
at The British Museum Numismatics {{coin-stub

See also

Line notes

Reference sources

External links