The images on this Roman denarius from the year46 BC are instructive for everybody interested in coinage.
The obverse depicts the goddess Juno Moneta, in whose temple in Rome the mint was located. The reverse depicts some instruments used for coinage: the laureate cap of the fire god Vulcanus and an anvil between tongs and a hammer.
The cap and the anvil are sometimes interpreted as coin dies. Each obverse and reverse die used for Roman republican coins was individually made. The metal on the die was hammered out, and then the image was engraved. The tongs were used to hold the upper die in place and to get the coin blanks out of the casting moulds.