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In 2004 two Seleucid bronze coins of Alexander Balas were discovered during an archaeological excavation at Sorkh Dom-e Laki, Kouhdasht town, Luristan. Between 2001 and 2004, an expedition of the Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research (ICAR) excavated at Sorkh Dom-e Laki for five seasons, directed by Arman Shishehgar. Excavations mainly brought to the light remains of structures dating to the Iron Age II and III. Finds included two Seleucid bronze coins of Alexander Balas1 minted at Ecbatana. The discovery of these issues for the first time in a documented archaeological context c.300 km from the presumed mint of origin represents a new addition to our knowledge concerning coin circulation during the Seleucid period in western Iran. This paper presents these two unpublished bronze specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the twelfth-thirteenth centuries massive quantities of bronze coin issued by the Song dynasty in China were exported and became the de facto monetary standard throughout maritime East Asia. However, the cessation of minting by the Ming dynasty in the 1430s provoked a monetary crisis. Private coinage proliferated both in China and abroad, creating a profusion of heterogeneous transactional currencies and numerous regional monetary circuits. This paper examines monetary circulation in maritime East Asia--encompassing China, Japan, Ryükyü, Vietnam, and Java--during the fifteenth-seventeenth centuries in order to re-assess the impact of Chinese coin in fostering monetary integration (and disintegration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The archeological round bronze coins, nominated as Wu Zhou and regarded as the first issued effective money in the Han Dynasty of China, have been systematically investigated to disclose their chemical composition, nature of the patina and corrosion features on the coin surface by optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (X-RD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with backscattered electron (BSE) detector and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) techniques. It is revealed morphologically that there are some rough surface cracks, pits, and multicolor patina on the surface of the coins. We prove that the coins are made from bronze material of Cu–Sn–Pb–Sb alloy with contents of 84.8–85.4wt.% Cu, 3.3–6.1wt.% Sn, 4.7–6.4wt.% Pb and 2.6–2.9wt.% Sb, and covered by two corrosion layers, 25–35μm for the upper-layer and 20–25μm for the sub-layer. High chloride content has been detected at the interface between the sub-layer and body of the coins. The lead-rich and tin-rich areas in the coin samples indicate the poor metal compatibility during minting in some locations of the coins. The main compositions of patina are ascertained to be Cu2(OH)3Cl, Cu3(CO3)2(OH)2, Cu2(OH)2CO3, and Pb3O4, and the proposed corrosion mechanism is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Between the twelfth and the fourteenth centuries China's monetary system shifted from a multiple currency system including paper notes, bronze coin, and uncoined silver to a unified paper currency system established by the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Consequently, China's long-standing bronze coin standard was replaced by a new money of account denominated in silver. However, silver largely disappeared as a medium of exchange under Yuan rule. Instead, silver units of account were used to denominate paper currency. The monetary policies of the Mongol Yuan state established a silver unit of account that remained the monetary standard throughout China's late imperial era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ancient and historic tin bronzes can be substantially affected by corrosion when submitted to non adequate storage conditions or more aggressive environments such as, for example, the marked increase of air pollution and of acidity of rainwater in urban medium recently affecting outdoor monuments. To protect them, some triazole compounds were tested as corrosion inhibitors of bronze covered with patina layer. As in the case of cultural artefacts, each specimen is unique, an accurate comparison of inhibiting effect of different molecules is therefore hard to realise. To overcome this difficulty, on the basis of a global understanding of the nature of natural bronze patinas, artificial patinas were synthesised on a contemporary bronze (Cu–Sn–Pb) having a similar composition to that of bronze coins dating of the post Roman Empire (5th–6th century AD). Surface characterization and electrochemical experiments were carried out both on contemporary bronze covered with artificial patina and on three ancient bronze coins discovered in Morocco. All triazole derivatives used, benzo-triazole (BTA), amino-triazole (ATA) and bi-triazole (BiTA), exhibited fairly good protective properties on the synthetic bronze. The BTA is efficient in an artificial patina isolated of the substrate bronze and an old bronze specimen covered with patina layer, but this substance is considered as toxic. The BiTA has shown only a slight inhibiting effect on the ancient bronze coin. The ATA is the most effective at 0.1mM concentration, and the initial treatment of bronze at a higher concentration makes inhibiting effect lower. The ATA is therefore considered the most promising candidate to be applied to protect antique bronze artefacts covered with natural patina layer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]