The territories of Aquitaine, located south of the Garonne River, and the territories located north of the middle reaches of the Ebro River and in the surrounding area, present many common features in the centuries before and after the arrival of the Romans. Before this introduction to the coinage of the Aquitaines We talked about it, a great starting point before today's first entry.
Among these common characteristics mentioned, they share the fact that they are a showcase for the first traces of the Basque language.
Occurrences of ancient Basque anthroponyms in inscriptions from the Roman period (republican and imperial periods), collected by Joakin Gorrotxategi – In blue in Aquitanian, in red in Vasconian
In one of the entries published on this blog, I wrote that Basque was never used in the coins minted in the current Basque territories, only Latin, French and Spanish, but in truth and probably, this statement is not entirely accurate.
In fact, among the first possible epigraphic traces of Basque we can mention the Paleohispanic coins minted between the Ebro and the Pyrenees. The term Paleohispanic is currently used to describe these coins, that is, they are coins from before the Roman province of Hispania was fully established. They are usually known as Iberian coins, but as we will see, in addition to Iberian ethnic groups, they were also minted by the Celtiberians and the Vascons.
The Paleo-Hispanic ethnic groups, or rather cities, since the cities minted the coins, minted silver and bronze coins. As happened in the North, no gold coins were minted here either. These coins present the Iberian script and in the case of coins from our geographical area, it is said that they were minted between 150 BC and 45 BC (some believe that they ended somewhat earlier, after the war of Sertorius, in the 60s AD).
Summary of symbols of Iberian writing, work of the page denarios.org
In general, coinage began to spread from the Greek colony of Emporion on the Mediterranean coast to the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Gradually, with the arrival of the Romans, it spread to the Ebro River during the 2nd century BC. With the reign of Octavian, the local silver coinage disappeared and the bronze coins adopted the Latin script. The bronze coins ended during the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula in the 1st century AD.
Bronze As, minted during the reign of Tiberius Augustus (14-37 AD). Municipality of Kaskante. 10.87gr.
Obverse or front: TI.CAESAR.DIVI.AUG.F.AVGVSTVS
Front or back: MVNICIP CASCANTVM
The silver coins weighed between 3.6 and 4.0 grams and were quite close to the weight of the Roman denarius, although in some cases they were slightly lighter. In books they are called denarius and cinarius (half a denarius), but unfortunately we do not know what their name was among the inhabitants of that time (at least not the name diru or sos, since the name diru would come from the same denarius in later generations and sosa from the word “sou” or salary in the early Middle Ages). They were silver coins approved and promoted by the Romans, they were used to pay taxes and soldiers and had a stable weight throughout the mentioned period.
In the case of bronze coins, there are significant differences in weight between different periods and even between different mints. Initially, some coins reached 14 grams (and even more), but they gradually lost weight and ended up weighing around 8 grams. The bronze coins bear the name of the Roman unit As and we can say that they were used in payments and trade in the area. In the case of bronze coins, semias (half As) and quadrants (quarter As) were also produced. In addition to these, as we will see, sextants (sixth As) and other values were also produced among the Iberians.
When taking a look at the Paleohispanic coins of the Middle and Late Ebro Valley, we will focus on the mints considered Basque. But we will also provide information about the ethnic groups in the area, especially the Suesatani and their descendants. It should be noted that the location of many of the mints that we will mention below is currently unknown. In these cases, we have to work with approximate or suspected locations, based on the criteria of coin finds and stylistic comparisons.
All the Paleohispanic coins from our region present the same pattern. On the obverse they have the image of a man's face, of unknown meaning, perhaps a god or an ancient hero. In Ifrantzua, they have a knight and below him, in Iberian script, the toponym of the city of the coin. This knight would represent the ruling and warrior elite of the city of the coin.
Those that have been called Basque coins are said to have the following general characteristics in addition to the previous model: On the obverse, the head is bearded and on the reverse, although the knight is sometimes armed with a spear, in others he uses short weapons instead of a spear. The use of the dolphin symbol is quite widespread, sometimes replaced or supplemented by Iberian supporting texts or an image of a plow. As we will see, all these elements are not simply accessories of Basque coins, but can also be found on the coins of neighboring ethnic groups in some cases.
Around this common model mentioned, variations of different complementary or auxiliary elements will allow for different classifications of today's entry. One of the most interesting of these accessories is the additional obverse texts presented by some mints.
Summary of the classification of additional coin texts created on the Imagopyrenaei blog
The use of these additional texts is not only found in Vascon coins, but also appears on Celtiberian or Iberian coins. However, they have different characteristics in each case and the map above shows the boundaries of each environment.
The mints shown in blue follow the Celtiberian pattern, that is, the additional texts on the front repeat the initial syllables or letters of the mint name (there are exceptions here too, but we will give the following as a general idea).
The Iberian mints located in the east present the colors lilac, purple, white and red located on the map above. In this case, scholars believe that the additional texts provide data on the value of the coin. The bronze coins from the mint located in Untikeske or Undikeske, near Emporio, are absolutely fascinating in this sense.
One of the As coins from the Untikesken mint (24.08gr)
Obverse: Head of the goddess Pallas in the Iberian script UNTIKESKEN
Front or back: IN STAGE in Iberian script, Pegasus horse
One of the half As coins from the Untikesken mint (Semis, 10.07gr)
Obverse: Head of the goddess Pallas in the Iberian script UNTIKESKEN
Front or back: ETERDER in Iberian script, Bull facing right
One of the As six coins from the Untikesken mint (Sextante, 3.42gr)
Obverse: Head of the goddess Pallas in the Iberian script UNTIKESKEN
Front or back: SERKIR in Iberian script, Pegasus facing right, dolphin below
If we look at the previous coins, we can compile the following summary table. Experts are quite clear that the meaning of the word “eta” revolves around the unit of coin, that is, it would be similar to the meaning of “coinage”, “currency unit” or ale. The following words would indicate the number of the unit of coin, that is, the word “ban” would mean one unit, the word “erder” would mean half a unit and the word serkir would mean six units.
|
Value |
As |
Image |
Short Text |
Full Text |
|
Unit |
1 |
Pegasus Horse |
oh well |
and I |
|
Unit |
1 |
and |
||
|
Semi-trailer |
1/2 |
Bull |
e = |
and beautiful |
|
Quadrant |
1/4 |
Leo |
e – |
e – |
|
Sextant |
1/6 |
Horse |
ś |
śerkir |
A summary of some of the companion texts that appear in the Untikeske mint
But if we move on to silver coins, here too we have reason to be surprised. Let's start with the two specimens from the Ars-Sagunto mint, the drachma and the half obol:
One of the drachma specimens from the Ars-Sagunto mint (2.54gr)
Obverse: Male head with wreath, dolphin
Front or back: ARKISH in Iberian script, bull facing right
One of the half obol coins from the Ars-Sagunto mint
Front or front: Helmeted Head
Ifrenzu background: ARSEETARKITERDER in Iberian script, horse's head facing right
If we complete the summary table as before, we can conclude the following. The word “Eta” continues to have the meaning of the unit, but in this case this unit is called “kitar” or “kitar”. The same name, i.e. “etarkit”, contains the number “erder” in the case of half an obol. That is, silver coins are called kitar ale.
|
Value |
Drachma/Obolus |
Mint |
Value 1 |
Value 2 |
|
Unit |
1 |
Arse |
and |
|
|
Unit |
1 |
Arse |
guitar |
|
|
Unit |
½ |
Arse |
and |
Beautiful kit |
Summary of some companion texts that appear in the Ars-Sagunto mint
There is another recent striking example, and this one is from the denarii mint of Iltirta, the present-day city of Lleida. In this case, instead of the word “Kitar”, the word “salir” is used, preceded by the supposed numeral “ban”. “Kitar” or “salir” are words that appear only on silver coins in both cases; these are also very significant and present a clear parallel to the current Basque word zilar.
One of the denarius specimens from the Iltirta-Lleida mint (4.00gr)
Obverse: Head facing right and three dolphins
Front or back: ILTIRTASALIRBAN in Iberian script, a knight with a palm tree facing right
Researchers and experts have not been able to decipher the Iberian language with the help of Basque and have concluded that the two languages are completely different. However, little by little, evidence seems to be emerging that they are the opposite or at least have some kind of relationship or common root. What has been shown so far should be enough to bring a smile to the lips of any Basque speaker.
But let's now take a look at the Vascon axis. The Greek geographer Claudius Ptolemy gave the following list of Vascon cities in the 2nd century: Oiasso, Iturissa/Eturissa, Pompaelo, Bituris, Andelos, Nemeturissa, Curnonium, Iacca, Graccurris, Calagurris, Cascantum, Ercavica, Tarraga, Muscaria, Segia and Allauona.
Location of most of the cities mentioned by Ptolemy during the Roman period, work by kondaira.net
When he wrote this list, two centuries had already passed since the last coins with Iberian script were minted, but if we make a classification of the cities named by Ptolemy, we can present the cities that minted coins under the same name:
|
Location |
Coinage Under That Name |
|
|
Hawaiian |
Oiartzun-Irun (Gipuzkoa) |
No |
|
Iturissa |
Unknown, Zaldua-Auritz (Navarra)? |
No |
|
Pompaelo |
Pamplona |
No |
|
Bituris |
Unknown |
No |
|
Andalusia |
Mendigorria (Navarra) |
No |
|
Nemeturissa |
Unknown |
No |
|
Curnonium |
Los Arcos (Navarra) |
No |
|
Iacca |
Jacket (Huesca) |
Yes |
|
Graccuris |
Alfaro (Rioja) |
Yes (But later, only in Roman script) |
|
Calagurris/Kalakorikos |
Calahorra (Rioja) |
Yes |
|
Cascantum/Caiskata |
Cascante (Navarra) |
Yes |
|
Ercauica/Erkauica |
Unknown |
Yes? |
|
Tarragona |
Unknown, Los Bañales – Uncastillo (Zaragoza)? |
No |
|
Grapevine |
Unknown |
No |
|
Next |
Ejea de los Cabelleros (Zaragoza) |
Yes |
|
Allauona/Alaun |
Alagon (Zaragoza) |
Yes |
So we now have the names and locations of the five Basque mints. What are the additional Iberian texts that present these five mints?
Among these five cities, Kaiskata and Kalakorikos, located in the south of the Basque territory, follow clear Celtiberian models. In the case of Kalakorikos, there is no trace of supporting texts, and in the case of Kaiskata, the first syllable of the coinage is the letter KA.
One of the ace coins from the Kalakorikos mint (9.44gr)
Obverse: Beardless head facing right. A dolphin in the background, moon and star in the foreground
Front or back: KALAKORIKOS in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
One of the ace coins from the Kaiskata mint (13.19gr)
Front or obverse: Bearded head facing right. Plough in the background, CA izkia in Iberian script
Front or back: BREAKING NEWS in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
If we look to the eastern regions of the Basque territory, we have the mints of Alaun, Iaka and Segia. In the case of Alaun, the coins follow a clear Iberian pattern of the Sedetans and have no trace of supporting texts.
One of the ace coins from the Alaun mint (13.12gr)
Obverse: Beardless head facing right, surrounded by three dolphins
Ifrentzu background: ALAUN in Iberian script, a knight with a palm tree facing right
But if we look at the Iaka and Segia coins, we can once again see interesting supporting texts on the obverse. And if we were to classify these supporting texts, we would make the following summary, according to the name of the mints that present these texts:
|
bench |
Good morning |
and good |
well, okay |
good |
good |
|
Baskunes/Barskunes |
|||||
|
Bentian |
Bentian |
||||
|
Unambaate |
|||||
|
Arsacos |
Arsacos |
Arsacos |
|||
|
Arsaos |
|||||
|
Dry |
|||||
|
Bolska |
Bolska |
||||
|
Caesars |
|||||
|
Iaka |
Classification of the supporting texts appearing in the mints located in the northwest of the Ebro
One of the IAKA mint's aces (7.95gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. GOOD text in Iberian script on the back, a dolphin on the front
Ifrentzu background: IAKA in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
This obverse BON text can be found on two Suesatani mints, outside the Vascon territories, namely on denarii from the Bolska and Sessars mints.
One of the denarius specimens from the Bolskan mint (3.84gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. GOOD text on the back in Iberian script
Ifrentzu background: IN BOLSKA in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
One of the denarius specimens from the Caesars mint (3.60gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. GOOD text on the back in Iberian script
Ifrentzu background: SESARS in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
The meaning of the text BON is unknown, some understand it as meaning value, but in that case we should extend this meaning to both the bronze bead from Iaka and the silver beads from Bolskan and Sesars. Therefore, the word BON can be understood as a contraction of the words BA, BAN or BAT and ON, where the word ON would have the meaning of the concept of value or bead. The following bead from Arsakos would strengthen the following thesis:
One of the denarius specimens from the Arsacos mint
Front view: Head facing right. BA text on the back in Iberian script
Ifrentzu background: ARSAKOSON in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
We can say the same about the coins that present the ON supporting text. In this case, starting from the Suez city of Bolskan, we will go towards Segia, which was a Basque city, and into other mints considered Basque:
Another denarius specimen from the Bolskan mint (4.01gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. OK text on the back in Iberian script
Ifrentzu background: (B)OLSKAN in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
One of the early aces from the Segia mint (11.57gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. OK text on the back in Iberian script
Ifrentzu background: SEGIA or SEGIA in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
One of the Arsaos mint's aces (13.4gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. Plough in the background and dolphin in the foreground, OK text near the neck in Iberian script
Ifrentzu background: ARSAOS in Iberian script, knight with short weapon, perhaps axe-like, facing right
One of the Arsacos mint aces (8.09gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. OK text on the back in Iberian script
Ifrentzu background: ARSAKOS in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
Among Iberian coins, we have seen that the meaning of the word ETA can be compared to the meaning of a piece, a bronze coin or a unit. In two mints that are probably Basque, the word ETA appears again and in this case it is compared to the word ON. The first mint is the Arsakos mint we saw earlier:
One of the Arsacos mint's aces (8.12gr)
Front or front: Bearded head facing right. AND text on the back and OK Iberian script on the front
Front or back: ARSAKOS in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
One of the ace coins from the Unambaate mint (12.80gr)
Front or front: Bearded head facing right. AND OK text on the front in Iberian script
Front or back: UNAMBAATE in Iberian script, knight with short weapon facing right
And finally, the last group of supporting texts is that of mints that feature the word BENKOTA. In this case too, we have two other mints. The case of Bentian is representative, as this mint presents a few specimens that feature the text BENKOTA ON.
One of the Bentian mint's aces (6.07gr)
Front or front: Head facing right. OK text near the neck and surely BENKOTA Iberian script on the back of the head.
Front or back: BENTIA in Iberian script, knight with lance facing right
One of the denarius specimens from the Bentian mint (3.9gr)
Front or front: Bearded head facing right. BENKOTA text on the back in Iberian script
Front or back: BENTIAN in Iberian script, knight with short weapon (probably sword) facing right
And finally, we have the coins from Baskunes and Barskunes, which are believed to name the same mint, we will have to talk at length about this mint:
One of the denarius specimens from the Vaskunes mint (4.03gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. BENKOTA text on the back in Iberian script
Reverse: BASCUNES in Iberian script, knight with short weapon (probably sword) facing right
One of the Barskunes mint's aces (11.67gr)
Obverse: Bearded head facing right. BENKOTA text on the back in Iberian script. Dolphin on the front
Back: BARSKUNES in Iberian script, knight with sword facing right
The case of the city of Erkauika mentioned by Ptolemy is not easy, since coins from a Paleo-Hispanic mint called Erkauika are known; but many researchers compare this mint with the later coinage of the Roman city of Ercavica, located in the La Muela area of Guadalajara. Others compare the Paleo-Hispanic coins with the Basque city of Erkauika and the Romans with the city of Ercavica in Guadalajara.
In fact, it is clear that these coins follow the pattern of Celtiberian coins, and if they were to be considered as coins of the city of Vasco, the Celtiberian influence of this city would be clear.
As coin from the Erkauika mint
Obverse: Head facing right. Plough in the background. ER with Iberian izki on the front
Reverse: EARTHQUAKE in Iberian script, knight with spear facing right
We have been on this subject for a long time and have only scratched the surface. We still need to talk about the origin and etymology of the urban texts that appear on Vascon coins. We still have mints that are about to be touched, and we have information about the use of unknown graphic symbols.
But we have to leave these for another time...
Bibliography:
VASCÓNICO-AQUITANO – Language, Writing, Epigraphy – Joaquín Gorrochategui – 2020 – Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza
Aquitano and Vasconico – Joaquín Gorrochategui – 2020 – link
GENERAL CATALOG OF THE MONEY OF NAVARRE – Ricardo Ros Arrogante – 2013 – Altaffaylla publishing house
The Vascones of the ancient springs: around an ethnic group of peninsular antiquity - Javier Andreu Pintado - 2009 - University of Barcelona
Ethnicities and currencies: the "vascona cecas", a critical review - Francisco Beltrán Lloris, Javier Velaza Frías - 2009 - link
Paleohispánicas cecas del Noreste del Valle medio del Ebro – International Day of MUSEUMS 2021, Museo de Navarra, CONFERENCE – Francisco Beltrán Lloris – link
A PROPÓSITO DE UN SEMIS DE ILDIŔDA WITH LEYENDA ERDER. MARCAS DE VALOR LÉXICAS SOBRE MONEDAS IBÉRICAS – Joan Ferrer i Jané,
Francesc Giral Royo -2007- link
CATALOG OF THE IBERIAN MONETARY OF THE NAVARRA MUSEUM – Luis Francisco Labe Valenzuela – 1984 – link
What is Paleohispanística? – conference MAN – Joaquín Gorrochategui – 2019 – link
Coin of the Basque Country – Pablo María Beitia Arejolaleiba – 2018
ANCIENT BASQUE IN NAVARRE – NAVARRORUM EXHIBITION, Lecture – Joakin Gorrotxategi – link
Secondary monetary legends – Imago Pirenaei blog – 2011 – link
The hierarchy of the Iberian cecas – Imago Pirenaei blog – 2011 – link
PALEOHISPANIC MONETARY EPIGRAPHY. LAS LEYENDAS SECONDARIAS – María José Estarán Tolosa – link
BANCO DE DATOS HESPERA DE LENGUAS PALEOHISPANICAS – II NUMISMATICA PALEOHISPANICA – María José Estarán Tolosa, Francisco Beltrán Lloris – link
BENTIAN HISTORIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF UNA CECA VASCONA – José M. Torregrosa Yago – link
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