Signa ed insignia nell’iconografia numismatica

Imperial insignia are often represented on coins, and these images are an important source for the reconstruction and interpretation on how the objects found during the excavation were effectively used. The investigation demonstrates the extraordinary consistence and continuity of the role of signa and insignia on this kind of documents, during a log span of time that goes from the age of Augustus to modern times. This continuity is a proof of the relevance that these symbols of power had as a way of identifying their owner, and the auctoritas he represented. The finds on the Palatine have a further effect on numismatic iconography: the imperial set is a proof that the sceptres, the ceremonial spears, the standards represented on the coins are not mere symbols, but real objects, only partially modified by the creativity of mint engravers.