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Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis
Published in: Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis 5/2018

29-08-2018 | Technical Article

Copper Alloy Coins from the Byzantine-Period Ma‘agan Mikhael B Shipwreck, Israel: Metallurgical Characterization

Authors: M. Cohen, D. Ashkenazi, G. I. Bijovsky, A. Inberg, S. Klein, D. Cvikel

Published in: Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis | Issue 5/2018

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Abstract

After three excavation seasons the Ma‘agan Mikhael B shipwreck has revealed, among other objects, seven coins. The coins were found covered with a black concretion layer, which was carefully removed from five of them. Metallurgical methods were used in order to reveal the composition, microstructure, and manufacturing process of the coins and to determine their date and the origin of the raw material. The coins were made of cast copper-lead alloy and were heated before being stamped. Based on the portrait of the House of Constantine I found on coins 120.1 and 120.2, and the figure on coin 120.5, combined with the composition of the coins, they were dated to the fourth century AD, when high concentrations of lead were added to alloys, most probably due to economic constraints. The study of the coins does not identify the ship’s origin or her ports-of-call, since coins were essentially mobile.
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Metadata
Title
Copper Alloy Coins from the Byzantine-Period Ma‘agan Mikhael B Shipwreck, Israel: Metallurgical Characterization
Authors
M. Cohen
D. Ashkenazi
G. I. Bijovsky
A. Inberg
S. Klein
D. Cvikel
Publication date
29-08-2018
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Metallography, Microstructure, and Analysis / Issue 5/2018
Print ISSN: 2192-9262
Electronic ISSN: 2192-9270
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13632-018-0476-8

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