Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="dltsrq, post: 4956826, member: 75482"]Yes, the prevailing theory at the moment is that the small bronzes from the reform of 318 down to the introduction of the FEL TEMP REPARATIO coins were called centenionalis. The word is found twice in the Codex Theodosianus but it is not entirely clear to which coin(s) the name corresponds. CTh 9.23.1.3, a law of Constantius II and Julian Caesar, provides that any merchant found in possession of "any coin other than that which continues in public use" shall have both the coins and his merchandise confiscated. Additionally, the law bans inter-provincial trade (speculation?) in coins per se, specifically those "commonly called" maiorina or centenionalis, along with "other moneys known to be forbidden". The Latin wording suggests that these are names in common use but not necessarily official names. Current thinking takes "maiorina" to refer to the large FEL TEMP REPARATIO coins and "centenionalis" to mean the Constantinian bronzes of 318-348. There are those who disagree, however. Another law, CTh 9.23.2, this time of Arcadius and Honorius, authorizes the continued use of the centenionalis while "larger coins", specifically the decargyrus, are to be withdrawn. Here, "centenionalis" almost certainly refers to the AE4 of the period. The two laws are separated by about 40 years.[/QUOTE]