Roman Coin Mint Marks: Identify the Mint from the Exergue
Mint mark: look in the exergue, the strip below the reverse design. A worn letter can still help narrow the possibilities.
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Use ? for one unreadable character: ?T? means three characters with T in the middle. Dots and spaces are separators.
A Roman mint mark often appears in the exergue — the strip below the reverse design. It may include a prefix (SM sacra moneta, M moneta), a mint-city abbreviation (TR Trier, SIS Siscia, ANT Antioch, K Cyzicus), and a workshop letter. The order and workshop alphabet vary by issue. For a worn three-character mark with T in the middle, search ?T? and compare the documented possibilities with the coin's type and date.
Where to look: the exergue
Look in the exergue — the strip below the reverse design, under the ground line. A mark may combine a prefix, a mint-city abbreviation, and a workshop (officina) letter. The workshop letter can come before or after the city; some issues put it in the reverse field instead. Not every mark has all three parts.
The mark above reads left to right: prefix (SM, sacra moneta), mint city (K, Cyzicus), officina (Β, second workshop).
Mint abbreviations in this guide
The table lists prefixes and city abbreviations, not every complete mark. Worn-letter search uses a smaller set of documented complete marks, with a source beside each result.
Type a mark in the decoder above to narrow this table, or browse all 23 mints below.
| Mint | Marks | Officina | Active |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlexandriaAlexandria, Egypt | SM · AL · ALE · ALEX | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 294–476 AD |
| Amiens (Ambianum)Amiens, France | AMB · AMBI | Latin (P S T…) | 350–353 AD |
| AntiochAntakya, Türkiye | SM · AN · ANT · ANTOB | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 294–476 AD |
| AquileiaAquileia, Italy | SM · AQ · AQVIL | Latin (P S T…) | 294–425 AD |
| Arles (Arelate)Arles, France | AR · ARL · CON · CONST · KON | Latin (P S T…) | 313–475 AD |
| Barcelona (Barcino)Barcelona, Spain | SM · BA | Latin (P S T…) | 409–411 AD |
| Carthage (Carthago)Carthage (near Tunis), Tunisia | K · KART | Latin (P S T…) | 296–307 AD |
| ConstantinopleIstanbul, Türkiye | CONS · CONSP · CP | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 326–476 AD |
| CyzicusErdek, Türkiye | SM · M · K · KY · CVZ · CYZ | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 260–475 AD |
| Heraclea (Thracica)Marmara Ereğlisi, Türkiye | SM · HT · HERAC · HERACL | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 291–476 AD |
| London (Londinium)London, England | P · M · LN · LON · AVG · AVGOB | Latin (P S T…) | 296–388 AD |
| Lyon (Lugdunum)Lyon, France | P · LG · LVG · LVGD | Latin (P S T…) | 274–413 AD |
| Milan (Mediolanum)Milan, Italy | MD · MED · MDOB | Latin (P S T…) | 364–475 AD |
| Nicomediaİzmit, Türkiye | SM · M · N · NIC · NIK | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 294–476 AD |
| OstiaOstia, Italy | M · P · OST | Latin (P S T…) | 308–313 AD |
| RavennaRavenna, Italy | RV · RAV | Latin (P S T…) | 404–476 AD |
| RomeRome, Italy | SM · R · RM · ROM · ROMA | Latin (P S T…) | 294–476 AD |
| SerdicaSofia, Bulgaria | SM · SD · SER · SERD | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 272–314 AD |
| SirmiumSremska Mitrovica, Serbia | SIRM · SIR | Latin (P S T…) | 320–395 AD |
| SisciaSisak, Croatia | SIS · SISC | Latin (P S T…) | 262–387 AD |
| ThessalonicaThessaloniki, Greece | SM · TES · TS · THES | Greek (Α Β Γ…) | 298–476 AD |
| TicinumPavia, Italy | SM · T · TIC | Latin (P S T…) | 274–326 AD |
| Trier (Treveri)Trier, Germany | SM · TR · TRE | Latin (P S T…) | 294–430 AD |
Reading a worn mint mark
Count the visible letter positions without guessing the missing letters. If there are three characters and only the middle T is clear, enter ?T?. The documented possibilities in this guide include PTR at Trier and HTB at Heraclea. Both fit those positions; neither is an attribution of your coin.
If you cannot tell the full length, choose the fragment option. Compare the candidate's portrait, reverse design, legends, date and workshop notation with the source. Dots are omitted for letter-count searching, but dots and other symbols can matter when identifying an exact issue. The source set is incomplete, so no result does not rule out a mint.
Complete-mark examples are linked to Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE), the Ashmolean coin collection, and other catalogued records beside each search result. The broader abbreviation lookup also offers possibilities outside this smaller documented-mark set.
Reading officina letters
Western mints often used Latin workshop letters: P prima (1), S secunda (2), T tertia (3), Q quarta (4). Greek numerals also occur: Α 1, Β 2, Γ 3, Δ 4. The alphabet and position vary by issue; geography alone does not determine the system.
When and why mint marks began
Regular exergual marks appear from the mid-3rd century and were standardized under Diocletian's reforms around 293–294 AD, giving the state control over which mint and workshop struck each coin.
My coin has no mint mark
Coins struck before the late 3rd century usually carry no exergual mark. They are attributed by portrait style, fabric, and legend, cross-referenced with RIC. See how to identify Roman coins for the full method.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the mint mark on a Roman coin?
Usually look in the exergue — the strip below the main design on the reverse. Some marks or workshop letters appear in the reverse field.
What do the letters SM and M mean?
SM stands for sacra moneta and M for moneta; they are prefixes marking the mark as an imperial mint signature.
What is an officina letter?
The officina is the workshop within a mint. Workshop letters may use Latin ordinals (P, S, T, Q = 1st–4th) or Greek numerals (Α, Β, Γ, Δ). The alphabet and position vary by issue; a workshop letter alone does not identify the mint.
When did Roman coins start having mint marks?
Regular exergual mint marks appear from the mid-3rd century and were standardized by Diocletian's reforms around 293–294 AD.
What if my coin has no mint mark?
Most coins before the late 3rd century carry no mint mark; the mint is attributed from portrait style, fabric, and legend, cross-referenced with RIC.
Have the coin in front of you? Identify it with catalog search.