XRF analysis of Roman Imperial coins

X-ray Fluorescence analysis has been applied on 477 ancient coins, issued in different mints active during the First Roman Emperor’s reign Augustus. The study of the different denominations has been related to their composition and place/date of struck. The alloys studied were based on gold, silver and copper. The X-ray micro-beam supplied by a polycapillary optics has been often extremely precious in the analysis of very small coin’s spot with no patina due to usage.