The coin on the left is one of the earliest denarii, with a head of Roma on the obverse and the Dioscuri on horseback on the reverse. The long-lived silver denarius was introduced ca. A bust of Hercules with a club over his shoulder appears on the obverse. The other consul belonged to the Fabii family, whose patron deity was Hercules. It is a representation of a statue group erected in Rome some years earlier by two brothers of the Ogulnii family, one of whom was consul in 269. The reverse type depicting the she-wolf and the twins Romulus and Remus refers to the legend of the founding of Rome. The types are appropriate to Rome and honor the consuls for that year. 280-278 B.C.Īn important innovation occurred in the year 269, when a regular silver issue was minted at Rome for the first time. The horse is a characteristic Carthaginian type and perhaps alludes to a treaty between Rome and Carthage ca. Shown here is a didrachm with a head of Mars on the obverse and a horse's head on the reverse. The Romans adhered closely to the Greek coinage system, borrowing types, denominations and even die-cutters from the Greeks. to finance military operations in that area. Silver coins were struck in south Italy beginning ca. The I above the prow marks the denomination - one as, or one Roman pound. On the obverse is the double-headed god Janus and on the reverse, the prow of a ship, symbolizing Rome's sea power. The types of this as commemorate these events. In the year 235 the doors to the temple of Janus were ceremoniously closed, a symbol of peace. The naval victory of the Aegates Insulae over Carthage in 238 left Rome master of the seas and heralded an era of peace. The most extensive Aes Grave coinage is the "Prow" series shown here which began ca. These coins were cast in bronze and issued in several denominations, each identified by a mark of value and a characteristic type. The first Roman coinage proper is the series known as Aes Grave, beginning ca. It seems appropriate to close the Roman series with mention of this reform and to begin the Byzantine series with Constantine the Great and the introduction of the solidus. A sweeping monetary reform by Diocletian did much to change its character, including innovations in types, denominations and mints. The variety of reverse types and the extensive series of imperial portraiture of this coinage provides an invaluable body of source material.īy the late third century repeated political, military and financial crises necessitated serious debasement of the coinage. It was left to Augustus to reestablish the Aes coinage and during the Empire coins were minted in gold, silver, copper, bronze and orichalcum (brass). Gold issues were rare until the late years of the Republic and bronze was issued irregularly. The denarius was the standard coin of the Republic and Empire. The unit of value was the bronze as and the denarius, the chief silver denomination, was valued at ten asses. It was not until 217 B.C., with the introduction of the silver denarius, that a completely Roman system of coinage came into existence. Two incommensurable systems soon developed - a bronze cast coinage (Aes Grave) based on the Roman weight standard and a silver struck coinage of a Greek standard. The earliest coinage proper was one of the results of Rome's expansion in the Italian peninsula which brought the Romans into contact with the Greek cities in south Italy, where there was a long tradition of silver coinage. Later, rectangular bars bearing a device (Aes Signatum) also came into use. For money they used rough lumps of bronze known as Aes Rude that were of no particular weight or shape and had to be weighed with each transaction. The Romans had no coinage of their own before the third century B.C.
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