Hi Everyone - what an interesting discussion! I think what must be remembered is that coins were bits of major propoganda! The profile images of emperors on them were repeated long after Rome fell to denote people of status and importance. Take a look at the profile portraits of the Early Renaissance in Italy! Coins were a way of getting the emperor's image "out there" in the vastness of the empire and beyond. It was the ancient equivalent of heads of state appearing on T.V. As for those that produced them - yes they may have been highly skilled, but you better believe they were not sitting in studios deep in creative thought as to how they were going to let loose those juices! They were sticking to the ideal reality common to Roman art. Their skills belonged to the state - very few artists works were signed in Rome. (Not to mention that a lot of the art was actually done by Greeks anyway!!) Yikes - opened my big mouth didn't I!! What can you expect from an Egyptian woman anyway *g*