Roman dodecahedron coin display

Abstract

The Roman dodecahedron coin display is described from a 3-part assembly likely similarly done by the ancient Romans. The 3 parts are 1) a duplicate, replica or model of the Roman dodecahedron of bronze with a hollow interior and a hole of possibly different sizes on each of the 12 pentagonal faces of the Roman dodecahedron and a small knob on the vertices of the Roman dodecahedron, 2) beeswax or possibly candle wax completely filling the hollow interior of the Roman dodecahedron and 3) 12 ancient or modern coins which are real, or replicas made of gold, silver, or bronze with possibly different sizes smaller than the holes in the Roman dodecahedron. A coin face is embedded or attached to the wax surface in the middle of each hole on the 12 faces.

Claims

1. A method of using a Roman dodecahedron to manufacture a coin display, herein termed the Roman dodecahedron coin display, comprising: providing a dodecahedron comprising: a dodecahedron body having a hollow interior and twelve pentagonal faces; a circular or elliptical hole in each of the said pentagonal faces, each hole having a different diameter; said dodecahedron body having twenty vertices with a knob or spherical ball at each of said twenty vertices; pouring liquefied wax into one of said circular or elliptical holes with the other eleven holes covered, and completely filling said hollow interior with said liquefied wax; providing twelve coins each having a smaller diameter than a respective one of said circular or elliptical holes; locating a face of each coin at a center of the respective one of said circular or elliptical holes after the covering of the holes is removed; and embedding or attaching said face of each coin in a surface of said liquefied wax and then the said liquefied wax is allowed to cool and harden to hold the coins firmly in place.

2. A method of using a Roman dodecahedron to manufacture a coin display according to claim 1, wherein said dodecahedron body comprises bronze.

3. A method of using a Roman dodecahedron to manufacture a coin display according to claim 1, wherein said wax is beeswax or candle wax.

4. A method of using a Roman dodecahedron to manufacture a coin display according to claim 1, wherein each of said coins includes an image or images on a face, said image or images selected from a group consisting of: Roman emperors, Roman mythological subjects, people, rulers, gods, goddesses, animals, zodiac signs, and month signs.

5. A method of using a Roman dodecahedron to manufacture a coin display according to claim 1, wherein said coins comprise gold, silver, bronze, copper, or electrum.

6. An article of manufacture of said Roman dodecahedron coin display, produced by the method of any one of claims 1-5.

7. A method of using a Roman dodecahedron to manufacture a coin display, herein termed the Roman dodecahedron coin display, comprising: providing a dodecahedron comprising: a dodecahedron body having a hollow interior and twelve pentagonal faces; a circular or elliptical hole in each of the said pentagonal faces, each hole having a different diameter; said dodecahedron body having twenty vertices with a knob or spherical ball at each of said twenty vertices; said dodecahedron body comprises bronze; pouring liquefied wax into one of said circular or elliptical holes with the other eleven holes covered, and completely filling said hollow interior with said liquefied wax; providing twelve coins each having a smaller diameter than a respective one of said circular or elliptical holes; locating a face of each coin at a center of the respective one of said circular or elliptical holes after the covering of the holes is removed; embedding or attaching said face of each coin in a surface of said liquefied wax and then the said liquefied wax is allowed to cool and harden to hold the coins firmly in place; wherein said wax is beeswax or candle wax; wherein each of said coins includes an image or images on a face, said image or images selected from a group consisting of: Roman emperors, Roman mythological subjects, people, rulers, gods, goddesses, animals, zodiac signs, and month signs; and wherein said coins comprise gold, silver, bronze, copper, or electrum.

8. An article of manufacture of said Roman dodecahedron coin display, produced by the method of claim 7.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a computer model of a Roman dodecahedron with hollow interior, a hole of different size in each of the 12 pentagonal faces and small spherical balls at the 20 vertices based on the Roman dodecahedron found in Jublains, France.

(2) FIG. 2 is a computer model of the assembly of the Roman dodecahedron coin display by completely filling the hollow interior of the Roman dodecahedron in FIG. 1 with a wax model and embedding a coin model in the wax in the middle of each hole on the 12 pentagonal faces of the Roman dodecahedron.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(3) Parts and Assembly of the Roman Dodecahedron Coin Display

(4) The 3 parts needed for the assembly of the Roman dodecahedron coin display are:

(5) Part 1) A duplicate, replica or model of the Roman dodecahedron constructed from bronze or any kind of material with a hollow interior with a circular or elliptical hole of possibly different sizes in each of the 12 faces and small spherical balls or knobs on each of the 20 vertices so that the Roman dodecahedron has a size and appearance similar to a real Roman dodecahedron.

(6) Duplicates, replicas or models of the Roman dodecahedron can be constructed from scratch or can be purchased at stores, internet websites and some museums displaying real Roman dodecahedrons.

(7) As an example of a Roman dodecahedron FIG. 1 shows a picture of a computer model of a hollow Roman dodecahedron with pentagonal faces (8), holes (9), vertices (10), and knobs or spherical balls (11), found buried in ruins of a Roman building in Jublains, France with dimensions of the Roman dodecahedron published in: Guillier, G., R. Delage and P. Besombes, Une fouille en bordure des thermes de Jublains (Mayenne): enfin un dodécaèdre en context archéologique!, Revue Archeologique de l'Ouest, 25, 2008, p. 269-289

(8) The hole dimensions range from 10.5 to 26 mm. The series of concentric circles inscribed in the bronze surface around various holes in this Roman dodecahedron were omitted in the computer model for simplicity.

(9) Part 2) Beeswax or possibly candle wax or another type of wax-like material to fill the hollow interior of the Roman dodecahedron.

(10) A possible procedure to introduce the wax into the hollow interior of the Roman dodecahedron is as follows:

(11) 11 of the holes of the Roman dodecahedron are covered with tape or plastic or wrapping to seal those holes and the largest production hole is left open.

(12) Beeswax or possibly candle wax which has been heated to about 144° F. (62° C.) to liquefy it is poured into the open hole of the Roman dodecahedron until the Roman dodecahedron is filled with wax. Pigments of different colors can be added to the wax to provide for different colors. The liquid wax in the Roman dodecahedron is allowed to cool and solidify. The tape or wrapping covering the holes is removed. The Romans likely used a similar procedure to fill the interior of the hollow Roman dodecahedron with wax.

(13) Part 3) 12 ancient or modern coins which are real, duplicates, replicas or models made of gold, silver, bronze or any kind of material and showing images of people, gods and goddesses, animals, zodiac signs or any subject matter on the faces of the coins and are smaller in size than the size of the holes of the Roman dodecahedron. A coin face is embedded or attached to the wax in the middle of the each hole in the 12 pentagonal faces of the Roman dodecahedron.

(14) This following method was likely used by the Romans to embed the coin faces to the wax. If the wax in the Roman dodecahedron has hardened then the surface wax in middle of the holes can be warmed by bringing the flame of a candle or small heater near the hole to make the surface wax softer if necessary, in order to make it easier to embed the coins in the wax. The coin face is embedded or pressed into the soft wax surface with either the obverse or reverse side of the coin visible to the observer. Excess wax in the holes pushed up or displaced by the coin embedding process is scrapped off to leave a flat wax surface around the coins in the holes. After embedding the coins in the middle of the hole of the Roman dodecahedron the wax is allowed to cool and harden to hold the coins firmly in place on the Roman dodecahedron.

(15) FIG. 2 shows a picture of a computer model of the assembly of the 3 parts for the Roman dodecahedron coin display by filling hollow interior in the computer model in FIG. 1 with a wax model (1) and embedding schematic coin models (2-7) of different sizes in the middle of the holes on each of the 12 pentagonal faces (8) of the Roman dodecahedron with holes (9), vertices (10), and knobs or spherical balls (11). This picture shows schematically how the Roman dodecahedron might have similarly appeared to Romans when they likely used it as a three-dimensional Roman dodecahedron coin display.

(16) Since the Roman dodecahedron coin display at the present time is not described by others in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public, then this discovery of the likely use of the Roman dodecahedron as a three-dimensional coin display qualifies for a patent. This discovery of a useful article of manufacture will allow collectors of Roman and Greek and other coins and people interested in Roman antiquities to have the opportunity to possess a Roman dodecahedron coin display likely similar to that used by the ancient Romans.

(17) A specific form of the discovery of the Roman dodecahedron coin display has been described, but it is understood that different variations and modifications of it are still covered by the spirit of the discovery or the scope of the following claims.