Countermakrs

Ancient coins display additional information through the application of countermarks. Numismatic evidence indicates that this phenomenon is almost as old as the invention of coinage itself, as the earliest electrum issues show marks applied by private citizens from the early 6th century BC (Le Rider 1975: 27-28). Countermarking quickly spread throughout the Ancient World, especially from the Hellenistic period onwards, when it became evident that state organizations also began to apply their own marks (Le Rider 1975: 37). Undoubtedly, the Romans were the most effective and pragmatic in the application of countermarks. Numerous punches, both private and state-civic, have been documented on their coins, especially between the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, although in the eastern part of the Empire, marks are found as late as the 3rd century AD (Howgego 1985). The Iberian Peninsula was not exempt from this process, which was spreading across the Mediterranean, as coins show that marks were likely stamped as early as the late 3rd century BC (Cerdà 2022: 227, 230, n.º 32).
 
The study of the countermarks applied to the peninsula's coinage is difficult due to the archaeological decontextualization of the material and the almost complete ignorance of the meaning intended to be conveyed. Therefore, their analysis has sparked little interest among scholars, antiquarians, and researchers from the 18th to the 20th century. From that moment, the first rigorous studies began, with authors like Vives, Vigo, and Guadán attempting to approach the meaning and utility of the marks they documented (see a bibliographic synthesis in Cerdà 2022: 222-224). Currently, research on this subject continues to advance with conventional and online publications that have allowed for the dissemination and access to numerous countermarked coins that were previously foreign to the researchers decades ago. Despite all these efforts, much remains to be known about the Hispanic countermarks, although their analysis allows for an appreciation of the complexity of the peninsula's monetary system and the different secondary uses that part of its coinage had.
 
For the creation of this countermark index, around one thousand coins have been studied. A total of 119 different types have been cataloged, which are shown in numerical order. Some of these have variants defined with letters (1a, 1b, 1c, etc.). Of this set, 108 types were stamped between the 3rd century BC and the 40s BC, based on their formal characteristics, epigraphic features, or the types of coins they are documented on. The remaining punches are of Imperial age, as they were also stamped on provincial coins. The presence of these imperial countermarks on coinage from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC demonstrates that these pieces circulated for a long period, sometimes spanning a century or more, as documented in archaeological stratigraphy (Campo, Ruiz de Arbulo 1989: 159-160).
 
All the countermarks we present appear to be applied with small punches (ranging from 1 mm to just over 10 mm) with rectangular/square, round/oval, rhomboidal, triangular, incised, or dotted shapes. Many of them are quite systematic in their arrangement on the obverse or reverse of the pieces, although in very few cases can we determine whether their application was civic, private, related to a trade, commerce, a historical figure, practical utility, or military affairs. We are convinced that future findings will help better define the function of each mark.
 
This catalog transcends the limits of printed publications since it sequences the different documented punches and the coins attributed to each type, making it possible to access the entirety of the study material. Moreover, it allows for progressive adjustments and expansions of the index itself in light of the appearance of previously unpublished countermarks.