Roman Coin Replica

thingiverse

Roman coins typically featured the Emperor on one side, which helped spread their name and power throughout the empire. The reverse side often depicted a God or Goddess. A 4th-grade project based on Ancient Rome is used at the end of a social studies unit. Students will engrave their profile on one side of the coin and choose an image for the reverse side. Coins are significantly larger than real coins. Two sample coins are included here, one is based on a drawing of Julius Caesar, while the other shows the teacher's profile. A simple base to hold the coin upright is also provided. Standards NGSS Overview and Background Roman coins usually featured the Emperor on one side, which helped spread their name and power throughout the empire. The reverse side often depicted a God or Goddess. This is a 4th-grade project that will be used at the end of a social studies unit on Ancient Rome. Students will engrave their profile on one side of the coin and choose an image for the reverse side. Coins are significantly larger than real coins. Two sample coins are included here, one is based on a drawing of Julius Caesar, while the other shows the teacher's profile. A simple base to hold the coin upright is also provided. Lesson Plan and Activity Introduce the project: Congratulations! You've just become Emperor of Rome. One of your first acts as Emperor will be to mint coins to celebrate the start of your reign. One side of the coin will, of course, show your face in profile. For the reverse side, you'll choose an image that symbolizes the qualities of the Roman Empire or the values you'll promote during your reign. Take a picture of each student in profile and upload it to Google Drive. Students will create a Google Drawing and insert their picture. Students will use the Line tools, such as Scribble, to trace the outlines of their profile. Lines should be thickened to 8 pixels. Shade in dark areas, like hair. Delete the original picture and finish off your drawing. Your drawing should be black and white. You can add a text box with your name or other legend if you want. Download your profile drawing as a JPG and use an online image converter to convert it to SVG. Create an image for the reverse side of the coin. You can draw it from scratch or trace an image you find on the Internet. Download the reverse image and convert it to SVG. Go to Tinkercad.com and create a new design. Import the blank coin. Import your drawing, try a size of about 10%. Make the profile drawing 1 mm high and make it a hole (negative space). Center it on the coin; it will be engraved on the bottom. Make the reverse image 2 mm high and raise it to the top of the coin so it is embedded in the top and sticks out 1 mm above the top surface. Download and print your coin. Show your coin to your classmates and explain why you chose the image you used. Project: Design a Roman Coin Objective: Students will create and print a coin in the style of ancient Rome. Audience: This project is designed for a 5th-grade class with some experience with 3D printing and Tinkercad.com. Preparation: This project will be completed at the end of a social studies unit on Ancient Rome. Students will have already completed one 3D printing project, so they'll have limited experience and skill with this software. Lesson Plan and Activity Introduce the project: Congratulations! You've just become Emperor of Rome. One of your first acts as Emperor will be to mint coins to celebrate the start of your reign. One side of the coin will, of course, show your face in profile. For the reverse side, you'll choose an image that symbolizes the qualities of the Roman Empire or the values you'll promote during your reign. Take a picture of each student in profile and upload it to Google Drive. Students will create a Google Drawing and insert their picture. Students will use the Line tools, such as Scribble, to trace the outlines of their profile. Lines should be thickened to 8 pixels. Shade in dark areas, like hair. Delete the original picture and finish off your drawing. Your drawing should be black and white. You can add a text box with your name or other legend if you want. Download your profile drawing as a JPG and use an online image converter to convert it to SVG. Create an image for the reverse side of the coin. You can draw it from scratch or trace an image you find on the Internet. Download the reverse image and convert it to SVG. Go to Tinkercad.com and create a new design. Import the blank coin. Import your drawing, try a size of about 10%. Make the profile drawing 1 mm high and make it a hole (negative space). Center it on the coin; it will be engraved on the bottom. Make the reverse image 2 mm high and raise it to the top of the coin so it is embedded in the top and sticks out 1 mm above the top surface. Download and print your coin. Show your coin to your classmates and explain why you chose the image you used. Results This project was successfully completed with a 4th-grade class.