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<p>[QUOTE="Gao, post: 963542, member: 19409"]To be clear, these are denominations from Augustus' coinage reform, which lasted in some form from 23 BC until Diocletian's reform in 293 AD. Republican coinage can get pretty complicated with its shifting standards (the Aes Grave, which eventually turned into the As, originally weighed a full Roman pound, but was gradually debased to 10 grams by the time of Augustus), so I won't post about those here. I would however like to give some more information on the Roman monetary system of this period.</p><p><br /></p><p>First of all, while most of the common denominations of imperial coinage were listed above, these were not all of the denominations of Roman coins that were made at this time. There were coins worth less than an as, the <a href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1692.html#RIC_0234" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1692.html#RIC_0234" rel="nofollow">semis</a> at 1/2 an as and the <a href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=quadrans&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=quadrans&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0" rel="nofollow">quadrans</a> at 1/4. I always found it interesting that the quadrans rarely had an imperial portrait. There was also a coin called the <a href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=dupondius&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=dupondius&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0" rel="nofollow">dupondius</a>, which was worth 2 asses. The dupondius was made of yellow brass, called orichalcum like the sestertius, rather than the reddish copper of the as, but it was about the same weight and size as an as. From Nero onwards, these coins almost always carried the image of the emperor in a radiate crown, which came to be a sign that a coin was worth twice what another coin was worth. On the higher end, there were also silver and gold coins both called the <a href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=quinarius&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=quinarius&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0" rel="nofollow">"quinarius,"</a> which were worth 1/2 of a denarius and 1/2 of an aureus respectively.</p><p><br /></p><p>One thing that should be kept in mind is that like most coinage systems, the Roman one was not static. The denarius became more and more debased over time, starting with Nero in 64 AD, though occasionally rulers like Domitian and Macrinus would briefly restore old standards, and the bronze coinage shrank a bit as well. The smaller denominations, and eventually even the bigger ones like the sestertius, were phased out due to inflation eroding their value.</p><p><br /></p><p>In addition to that, new denominations were introduced, such as the antoninianus*:</p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/Gordian_Laetitia.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>This was a denomination introduced by Caracalla in 215 AD at the value of 2 denarii, which was indicated by a radiate crown on male busts and a crescent moon shape under the bust for females. Despite the assigned value, it generally only had the silver content of 1.5 denarii. People understandably felt cheated by this, and Elagabalus (who reigned 218-222) ceased production of them, but due to inflationary and financial troubles, the denomination was reintroduced by Gordian III (238-244). The example above depicts Gordian III and dates from this period. Gresham's law meant that denarii were quickly driven out of circulation and the antoninianus became the standard silver coin of the empire.</p><p><br /></p><p>*The name derives from Caracalla's proper name, Antoninus, but it probably wasn't it's name in antiquity. We really don't know very many denomination names from this period onwards, but collectors and researchers have names that they commonly use for them. This coin is also sometimes called the double denarius or radiate denarius.</p><p><br /></p><p>Trajan Decius, who reigned from 249-251, introduced a denomination known as the double sestertius, which, like the antoninianus and dupondius, was marked with a radiate crown. These were often overstruck on old first century sestertii. The denomination was not popular and ceased to be manufactured rather quickly, though for some reason, the break away Gallic empire used it during the reign of Postumus (260-268). The example below is one of these Gallic double sestertii:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/normal_Postumus_Double_Sestertius.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>The third century was a rather bad one for the empire, and the antoninianus shrank and lost silver content until they were essentially bronze coins with a silver wash. This wash usually doesn't survive. Here's an example from Claudius Gothicus, who reigned from 268-270:</p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/Claudius_Gothicus_Libertas.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>Due to the low value of these coins, "smaller" denominations like the sestertius were driven out of circulation and no longer produced.</p><p><br /></p><p>One thing I found interesting is that it's been shown that during this period, workers at the mint in Rome were actually putting less silver in their coins than they were supposed to, keeping the extra for themselves. The emperor Aurelian (who reigned from 270-275) took an interest in having solid coinage again, and his attempts to stop this practice actually caused a revolt of mint workers. Aurelian put down the revolt, and the mint at Rome was briefly closed. Aurelian also made the first major restoration in coinage in decades and stabilized the value of the currency for a while by producing a coin with just under 5% silver:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/Aurelian_Concordia_Militvm.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><img src="http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=2864&pos=1" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p>The exact value of this coin is disputed, and the issue mostly stems from the mysterious "XXI" mark (sometimes expressed in Greek as kappa alpha) found in the reverse exergue of these coins. Some argue that it's a statement of the metal content, saying that it's 20 parts base metal and 1 part silver (which in fact is just about the actual ratio in these coins), and that it still had the face value of 2 denarii. Others argue that that mark was a statement of value, stating that it was 20 sestertii (the basic unit of account in the early empire) for each one of these coins, making them worth 5 denarii. To further complicate matters, there's an inscription which might imply that these were worth 4 denarii. I'm not going to get into the whole debate about that, but I should note that that radiate coins based on Aurelian's standard are sometimes called "Aureliani," particularly by those who say that it was worth more than 2 denarii, but are usually still called antoniniani.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I think that about does it for the major points of imperial coinage before Diocletian's reform. I might make another post about Diocletian's reform and provincial coinage later today. If Clinker's post or my own has intrigued you and you want to get into the nitty gritty of the history Roman coinage, it's values, and its use, I recommend picking up a copy of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Coinage-Economy-Ancient-Society-History/dp/0801852919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280846497&sr=8-1" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.amazon.com/Coinage-Economy-Ancient-Society-History/dp/0801852919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280846497&sr=8-1" rel="nofollow"><i>Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700</i> by Kenneth W. Harl</a>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Gao, post: 963542, member: 19409"]To be clear, these are denominations from Augustus' coinage reform, which lasted in some form from 23 BC until Diocletian's reform in 293 AD. Republican coinage can get pretty complicated with its shifting standards (the Aes Grave, which eventually turned into the As, originally weighed a full Roman pound, but was gradually debased to 10 grams by the time of Augustus), so I won't post about those here. I would however like to give some more information on the Roman monetary system of this period. First of all, while most of the common denominations of imperial coinage were listed above, these were not all of the denominations of Roman coins that were made at this time. There were coins worth less than an as, the [URL="http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear5/s1692.html#RIC_0234"]semis[/URL] at 1/2 an as and the [URL="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=quadrans&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0"]quadrans[/URL] at 1/4. I always found it interesting that the quadrans rarely had an imperial portrait. There was also a coin called the [URL="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=dupondius&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0"]dupondius[/URL], which was worth 2 asses. The dupondius was made of yellow brass, called orichalcum like the sestertius, rather than the reddish copper of the as, but it was about the same weight and size as an as. From Nero onwards, these coins almost always carried the image of the emperor in a radiate crown, which came to be a sign that a coin was worth twice what another coin was worth. On the higher end, there were also silver and gold coins both called the [URL="http://www.acsearch.info/search.html?search=quinarius&view_mode=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#0"]"quinarius,"[/URL] which were worth 1/2 of a denarius and 1/2 of an aureus respectively. One thing that should be kept in mind is that like most coinage systems, the Roman one was not static. The denarius became more and more debased over time, starting with Nero in 64 AD, though occasionally rulers like Domitian and Macrinus would briefly restore old standards, and the bronze coinage shrank a bit as well. The smaller denominations, and eventually even the bigger ones like the sestertius, were phased out due to inflation eroding their value. In addition to that, new denominations were introduced, such as the antoninianus*: [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/Gordian_Laetitia.jpg[/IMG] This was a denomination introduced by Caracalla in 215 AD at the value of 2 denarii, which was indicated by a radiate crown on male busts and a crescent moon shape under the bust for females. Despite the assigned value, it generally only had the silver content of 1.5 denarii. People understandably felt cheated by this, and Elagabalus (who reigned 218-222) ceased production of them, but due to inflationary and financial troubles, the denomination was reintroduced by Gordian III (238-244). The example above depicts Gordian III and dates from this period. Gresham's law meant that denarii were quickly driven out of circulation and the antoninianus became the standard silver coin of the empire. *The name derives from Caracalla's proper name, Antoninus, but it probably wasn't it's name in antiquity. We really don't know very many denomination names from this period onwards, but collectors and researchers have names that they commonly use for them. This coin is also sometimes called the double denarius or radiate denarius. Trajan Decius, who reigned from 249-251, introduced a denomination known as the double sestertius, which, like the antoninianus and dupondius, was marked with a radiate crown. These were often overstruck on old first century sestertii. The denomination was not popular and ceased to be manufactured rather quickly, though for some reason, the break away Gallic empire used it during the reign of Postumus (260-268). The example below is one of these Gallic double sestertii: [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/normal_Postumus_Double_Sestertius.jpg[/IMG] The third century was a rather bad one for the empire, and the antoninianus shrank and lost silver content until they were essentially bronze coins with a silver wash. This wash usually doesn't survive. Here's an example from Claudius Gothicus, who reigned from 268-270: [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/Claudius_Gothicus_Libertas.jpg[/IMG] Due to the low value of these coins, "smaller" denominations like the sestertius were driven out of circulation and no longer produced. One thing I found interesting is that it's been shown that during this period, workers at the mint in Rome were actually putting less silver in their coins than they were supposed to, keeping the extra for themselves. The emperor Aurelian (who reigned from 270-275) took an interest in having solid coinage again, and his attempts to stop this practice actually caused a revolt of mint workers. Aurelian put down the revolt, and the mint at Rome was briefly closed. Aurelian also made the first major restoration in coinage in decades and stabilized the value of the currency for a while by producing a coin with just under 5% silver: [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19819/Aurelian_Concordia_Militvm.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=2864&pos=1[/IMG] The exact value of this coin is disputed, and the issue mostly stems from the mysterious "XXI" mark (sometimes expressed in Greek as kappa alpha) found in the reverse exergue of these coins. Some argue that it's a statement of the metal content, saying that it's 20 parts base metal and 1 part silver (which in fact is just about the actual ratio in these coins), and that it still had the face value of 2 denarii. Others argue that that mark was a statement of value, stating that it was 20 sestertii (the basic unit of account in the early empire) for each one of these coins, making them worth 5 denarii. To further complicate matters, there's an inscription which might imply that these were worth 4 denarii. I'm not going to get into the whole debate about that, but I should note that that radiate coins based on Aurelian's standard are sometimes called "Aureliani," particularly by those who say that it was worth more than 2 denarii, but are usually still called antoniniani. I think that about does it for the major points of imperial coinage before Diocletian's reform. I might make another post about Diocletian's reform and provincial coinage later today. If Clinker's post or my own has intrigued you and you want to get into the nitty gritty of the history Roman coinage, it's values, and its use, I recommend picking up a copy of [URL="http://www.amazon.com/Coinage-Economy-Ancient-Society-History/dp/0801852919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280846497&sr=8-1"][I]Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700[/I] by Kenneth W. Harl[/URL].[/QUOTE]
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