Elemental analysis of Seleucid's silver coins from Hamadan Museum by PIXE technique

Alinezhad, Zahra; Dehpahlavan, Mostafa; Rashti, Mohammad Lamei; Oliaiy, P.

doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2019.01.023

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Copper was a main alloying element in ancient silver coins and the addition of copper to silver was often performed to depress the melting point as well as to improve the mechanical properties of the alloy [ 12 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 22 ]. Since the presence of Sn is quite rare in galena ores, its presence might point to alloying the silver with bronze instead of pure Cu [ 21 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, when the oxide layer is thin and the shiny metal is exposed beneath, the limitations of SEM-EDS analysis should not prevent the use of this method as a valuable tool for the characterization of ancient silver coins. However, it is essential first to determine whether the composition of the surface layer is representative of the bulk composition of the object [ 18 , 19 , 32 , 42 , 45 ]. In order to do so, seven Yehud silver coins were locally ground in several areas to expose their bulk metal and their composition was examined before and after grinding.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The addition of more than 3 wt% Cu to silver was frequently made to improve the mechanical properties of silver objects and also act as a melting-point depressant. Hence, the presence of more than 3 wt% Cu usually suggests that the copper was intentionally added [ 12 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Technological Background To Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Archaeometallurgical Analysis of the Provincial Silver Coinage of Judah: More on the Chaîne Opératoire of the Minting Process

Cohen

Ashkenazi

Gitler³

et al. 2023

Materials

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Silver coins were the first coins to be manufactured by mass production in the southern Levant. An assemblage of tiny provincial silver coins of the local (Judahite standard) and (Attic) obol-based denominations from the Persian and Hellenistic period Yehud and dated to the second half of the fourth century BCE were analyzed to determine their material composition. Of the 50 silver coins, 32 are defined as Type 5 (Athena/Owl) of the Persian period Yehud series (ca. 350–333 BCE); 9 are Type 16 (Persian king wearing a jagged crown/Falcon in flight) (ca. 350–333); 3 are Type 24 series (Portrait/Falcon) of the Macedonian period (ca. 333–306 BCE); and 6 are Type 31 (Portrait/Falcon) (ca. 306–302/1 BCE). The coins underwent visual testing, multi-focal light microscope observation, XRF analysis, and SEM-EDS analysis. The metallurgical findings revealed that all the coins from the Type 5, 16, 24, and 31 series are made of high-purity silver with a small percentage of copper. Based on these results, it is suggested that each series was manufactured using a controlled composition of silver–copper alloy. The findings present novel information about the material culture of the southern Levant during the Late Persian period and Macedonian period, as expressed through the production and use of these silver coins.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Archaeometallurgical Analysis of the Provincial Silver Coinage of Judah: More on the Chaîne Opératoire of the Minting Process

Cohen

Ashkenazi

Gitler³

et al. 2023

Materials

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“…This last feature is mainly due to the adoption of external beam setup, where both detectors and sample are maintained out of vacuum, thus avoiding/limiting effects such as heating, selective sublimation/evaporation, charging etc. This technique has been used for CH to study many different samples, such as paintings [28][29][30][31][32][33][34], metal point drawings [35,36], precious [37][38][39][40] and semi-precious stones [41][42][43][44][45], ancient coins [46][47][48], precious metals [49][50][51][52], ancient bronze statues [53,54], terracotta, pottery, and clay [55][56][57][58][59], and ancient manuscripts [60][61][62][63].…”

Section: X-ray Detectors-pixementioning

confidence: 99%

Detectors and Cultural Heritage: The INFN-CHNet Experience

et al. 2021

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Detectors are a key feature of the contemporary scientific approach to cultural heritage (CH), both for diagnostics and conservation. INFN-CHNet is the network of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics that develops and applies new instrumentation for the study of CH. This process results in both optimized traditional state-of-the-art and highly innovative detection setups for spectrometric techniques. Examples of the former are X-rays, gamma-rays, visible-light and particles spectrometers tailored for CH applications, with optimized performances, reliability, weight, transportability, cost, absorbed power, and complementarity with other techniques. Regarding the latter, examples are ARDESIA, the array of detectors at the DAΦNE-Light facility, the MAXRS detection setup at the Riken-RAL muon beamline and the imaging facilities at the LENA Laboratory. Paths for next-generation instruments have been suggested, as in the case of the X-ray Superconductive Detectors and X-ray Microcalorimeter Spectrometers, allowing astonishing improvement in energy resolution. Many issues in CH can now be addressed thanks to scientific techniques exploiting the existing detectors, while many others are still to be addressed and require the development of new approaches and detectors.

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“…[5] In the same year, the Department of Archaeology of the University of Tehran used PIXE to study the differences in elemental content in the currency minted in the Seleucid dynasties, providing valuable information on the changes in the monetary system. [6] The above PIXE analysis is based on traditional tandem accelerators. One of the disadvantages is the huge volume of the device and the complexity of the operation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and calibration of an elliptical crystal spectrometer for the diagnosis of proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE)

Fang 方,

Li 李,

Cheng 程

et al. 2023

Chinese Phys. B

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Laser-driven proton-induced X-ray emission (laser-PIXE) is a nuclear analysis method based on the compact laser ion accelerator. Due to the transient process of ion acceleration, the laser-PIXE signals are usually spurted within nanoseconds and accompanied by strong electromagnetic pulses (EMP), so traditional multi-channel detectors are no longer applicable. In this work, we designed a reflective elliptical crystal spectrometer for the diagnosis of laser-PIXE. The device can detect the energy range of 1-11 keV with a high resolution. A calibration experiment was completed on the electrostatic accelerator of Peking University using samples of Al, Ti, Cu, and ceramic artifacts. The detection efficiency of the elliptical crystal spectrometer was obtained in the order of 10−9.

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Elemental analysis of Seleucid's silver coins from Hamadan Museum by PIXE technique

Cited by 7 publications

References 14 publications

Archaeometallurgical Analysis of the Provincial Silver Coinage of Judah: More on the Chaîne Opératoire of the Minting Process

Archaeometallurgical Analysis of the Provincial Silver Coinage of Judah: More on the Chaîne Opératoire of the Minting Process

Detectors and Cultural Heritage: The INFN-CHNet Experience

Design and calibration of an elliptical crystal spectrometer for the diagnosis of proton-induced x-ray emission (PIXE)

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