Are there any Ancient Roman silver coins larger than the denarius?

Ok so I know this may sound like a dumb question...

But does anyone happen to know if there are any Ancient Roman silver coins larger than the denarius?

The denarius is just so small that it’s kind of hard to see the design and lettering. Especially on coins with some wear & tear.

I know that the Romans made much larger coins like the Sesterce but I just really have a thing for silver coins and unfortunately the Sesterce is a good sized coin but it’s not silver.

If anyone happens to know the answer please let me know. Even if it was a coin that was only issued for a short time.

Oh yeah and please no sarcastic comments like “Duh! The double denarius!” xD


Thanks everyone!

 

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Your new avatar is an improvement

 

You’re the first one to notice I changed it.

 

There's the antoninianus, which is a few mm larger than the denarius. The only thing is the silver percentage rapidly declined, but the ones from roughly 200 CE - 250 CE look very nice IMHO.

There are also some medallions minted in silver if your budget allows.

 

Sure, if you count provincials, which I do. There are many tetradrachms from Antioch and Syria and tridrachms (which are probably light tetradrachms) from Turkey and the cistophorus denomination from Turkey. Here is one from Hadrian (117-138):



HADRIANVS AVG COS III PP
DIANA EPHESIA (Notice, the legends are in Latin, not Greek)
Relevant to your question is that a denarius is likely 18 mm and this coin is far larger at 28 mm and 10.46 grams.
It is actually in RIC as Hadrian 474. It is also in RPC III (Roman Provincial Coinage III) 1328. It was minted at Ephesus, in Asia Minor (Turkey). Sear II 3448.

 

Where is the pie ?

 

Ah ok thanks.

Nah I’m trying to focus on coins not really medallions.

I was hoping maybe there would be a high purity Roman silver coin in the 7 to 18 grams range.

 

That’s a different pic lol

 

didrachms is one type.


Nerva (96 -98 A.D.)
Cappadocia, Caesarea
AR Didrachm
O AVTOKPAT NEPOYAC KAICAP CEBACTOC YΠATΔ, Laurate head right.
R: CEBACTOY TYXH, Tyche standing left holding rudder in right hand and cornucopiae in left.
Cappadocia, Caesarea 97 A.D.
20mm
6.7g
Sydenham 150, SNG von Aulock 6380

Published on Wildwinds!

 

My largest Roman 'silver' coin would be this Nero tet from Alexandria,

the next largest would be this Gordian antoninianus,

 

How much do those weigh?

 

Syria Tetradrachms are great too.


Vespasian (69 - 79 A.D.)
Antioch, Syria
AR Tetradrachm
O: AYTOKPAT KAIΣA OYEΣΠAΣIANOY; Head of Vespasian, laureate head right.
R: (T) ΦΛAYI OYEΣΠ KAIΣ ETOYΣ NEOY IEPOY; Laureate Head of Titus, r.; in r. field, B=Year 2 ( 69-70 AD)
11.37g
25mm
RPC 1941 (2 spec.)., Cf. Prieur 107-107A

 

Antoninianii are definitely one - The early ones by Caracalla - Elagabalus and then again from Pupienus/Balbinus - Early Gallienus - these are about US quarter sized and weight



My personal favorite are the cistophorii - tetradrachm sized, but still engraved in Latin. I believe they were essentially a 3-denarius coin that only circulated in Asia Minor - these are closer to half dollar size



There are also some lovely Greek-inscribed drachms, didrachms, tridrachms, and tetradrachms. These are quite often visibly debased, however...

 

11.80 g and 4 g.

 

Nice!

So then if your 11.8g coin is a tetradrachm do you know if a tetradrachm was equal in value to four denarii?

I know Drachmae and Denarii are different I’m just curious if they were equal in value in terms of silver.

However it’s interesting that your Nero tetradrachm is 11.8g but my Athenian tetradrachm is 17.18g. It must have been debased between the 5th century BC and 1st century AD.

 

I'm glad you got rid of the old avatar, since unfortunately the pie didn't exactly come across like an advertisement for high intelligence! But I admit that the new one puzzles me a little. Why would you, since apparently you're a guy, use a photo of a young woman as your avatar? Maybe it's just something people do? I have no idea.

 

I’m not exactly sure about the name but Roman Alexandrian tets are not based on the Athenian standard. While a tetradrachm equaled 4 drachma or denarii, in this case Roman Alexandrian tets are so debased that it only equaled one denarius!

 

I am wondering as well, I hope it is his girlfriend

 

Indeed. From bad to worse. Are you trying to make us think this is your girlfriend, you are the girl or something more bizarre?
And what a silly question to ask when you could just Google it. Screams, "give me attention!" Like much of their posts.
How about using one of your dope looking, unresearched, slabed coins?
Sometimes people use images of young, good looking people to try and take advantage...
This site is sometimes the theater of the strange:

 

Unfortunately, I don't have any cistophori to share, but I do have a miliarense. I believe this one is 23mm. While it's not huge, it is larger than the siliqua, which is around the same size as a denarius.

Miliarense of Constantius II