Why is it that most of the old metal Scrabble tiles I come across are for the letter N? Only joking! I’ve just taken possession of another ten ancient weights, seven of which are late Roman or early Byzantine. The letter N, engraved or punched in and then occasionally filled with silver stands for nomisma, an ancient name for the gold solidus.
There is, however, in the group a new denomination for my
weight collection and that is the top, circular, weight. That weighs a little
over 2.2 grammes and is punched IB in dots. This indicates 12 siliquae keratia,
or, in other words a gold half solidus known as a semissis.
