Publications: Numismatics

The short legends of the Palaeohispanic coins have been tra- ditionally analysed and understood within the epigraphic culture (Celtiberian, Iberian and “Vasconic”) they belong to. This approach has lead to a di- chotomous vision according to which the typical Celtiberian secondary legends show the first letter of their toponym while Iberian ones have an order or value mark. The study analyses and organises short legends other than toponyms (or their first letter) and order marks, but the value and undefined markers, as a whole. The result is much less rigid than the traditional model. The author also formulates a hypothesis about the meaning of the legends ban, eba, bon, etaon and etaban and a link between them.

The printed version of numismatic section of the HESPERIA Palaeohispanic Languages Data Bank (http://hesperia.ucm.es/en/numismatica.php) contains every coin legend written in any Palaeohispanic language, that is, Iberian and Celtiberian, and the language of the coins from the north-western Ebro Valley, which maybe partially corresponds to the Vasconic language.

This paper aims to summarize the state of the research on the legends of Iberian coins. The legends mainly identify place names, personal names, value marks and issue marks. These elements can appear isolated, accompanied by morphemes or in multiple composition or combination between them.