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Chapter1
Introduction
ForthebenefitofthereaderwhomaybealittleconfusedbytheLatinlanguage
titleofthisbook,afewwordsofexplanationarenecessaryatthebeginningof
thisbookconcerningthespecificsubjectoftheresearchitdescribes.Asstatedby
thesubtitle,thisbookdiscussesthecoinsoftheRomanRepublicfoundinEast-
CentralEuropenorthoftheSudetesandtheCarpathianmountains.Theterm
East-CentralEuropeisunderstoodtocoverthepresent-dayterritoryofPoland,the
north-westernregionofUkraine(Chernivtsi,Ivano-Frankivs’k,Khmel’nyts’kyy,
L’viv,Rivne,Ternopil’,Volyn’,Zakarpattyaoblasts),thewesternregionofBelarus
(GrodnoandBrestoblasts),theCzechRepublic(BohemiaandMoravia),Slovakia,
andareasinAustria,Hungary,SerbiaandRomanialyingontheleftDanubebank,
butnotincludingtheBlackSeacoast.ThetermEast-CentralEuropenorthofthe
SudetesandtheCarpathiansisusedwithreferencetotheterritoryofpresent-
dayPoland,areasofUkraineindicatedabove(exceptforZakarpattyaoblast,i.e.
CarpathianRuthenia)andthewesternpartofBelarus.Thismannerofdefinition
oftheterritorialscopeofthestudywasdictatedbytheextentofarchaeological
cultures.Inthelaterpre-RomanandtheearlyRomanperiods(ca.200BC–ca.AD
160)mostofthepresent-dayterritoryofPolandwaspopulatedbyIronAgesocieties
knowntoarchaeologistsasthePrzeworsk,OksywieandWielbarkarchaeological
cultures.TheareaofsettlementofthePrzeworskculturespreadoutsidethesouth-
easternborderofPolandquitefarintotheterritoryofnorth-westernUkraineand
asmallfragmentofwesternBelarus.Asforthematerialscopeofthisbook,our
focusofdiscussionarecoinsfromtheperiodoftheRomanRepublicusedduring
Antiquity,tobemoreprecise,issuesfromtheperiodofthefirstRomanemissions
until27BC.TheonlytypeofRomanRepublicancurrencyrecoveredfromand
recordedinthestudyareaaresilverandbronzecoins.Sofar,theavailablebody
offindsdoesnotincludeRepublicangoldcoinsoranyproto-currencythatcanbe
attributedtoRepublicanperiodRome.
TheregionofEast-CentralEuropenorthoftheSudetesandtheCarpathians
wasnever,notevenforamoment,apartoftheRomanstate.Thismeansthatall
oftheRomancoinsfoundinthisterritorymustbetreatedasimports.Atthetime
ofwriting,thereisnoevidencethatimitationsorcopiesofRomanRepublican
