I've been somewhat surprised about the Roman Coin Mould fuss. They are nothing new. I remember Alex Malloy had some for sale at the March, 1976 NY Metropolitan show. People still offer them on the Internet.

These things have been recorded for almost 350 years. Hundreds were found at Edlington, Somerset in 1670 and were recorded by John Aubrey. At the time, everyone knew exactly what they represented. They're mentioned in Camden's   Britannia (1789 "Gough" edition) and a fuller account by J. Poole appeared in   Archaeologia, 1808. My favorite illustration of the way they were used is from E. T. Artis,   Durobrivae, 1828 (image attached).

Perhaps this is a good place to suggest that people interested in ancient coins will be well served by looking into the archaeological literature.