5/19/2023 0 Comments Roman denarius valueThis suggests that several mints issued quadrigati at different times, and under quite different circumstances. There are many varieties of quadrigati, as revealed by differences in die engraving, metal purity and production standards, not to mention subtle variations of the main design. The principal silver coin of the war was a reduced-weight didrachm called a "quadrigatus" after its reverse design, a four-horse chariot (quadriga) bearing Victory and Jupiter. In addition to gold coins, the Romans issued copper and silver coins, sometimes in enormous quantities. Silver Quadrigatus Roman coinage was fortified during the Second Punic War. it shows a youthful head of Hercules and the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, the mythological brothers credited with founding Rome in 753 B.C.Ĥ. Illustrated here is a didrachm struck sometime between 275 and 255 B.C. The purpose of each issue is still debated, and it is unlikely that a precise dating will be established. Most of the later pieces were struck in Rome, and it seems that each was prompted by a special circumstance rather than any need for a steady supply of silver coinage. Over the next century, the Romans issued several types of silver didrachms with new designs – usually the head of Mars or Apollo paired with a horse or horse head. Silver Didrachm The first struck "Roman" coins appear to have been produced in Neapolis (Naples), a Greek ally of Rome during the Second Samnite War (c.326-304 B.C.). that portrays the god Mars and the eagle of Jupiter.ģ. Illustrated here is a 60-as of c.211-208 B.C. they were being struck at 40 to the pound, a standard that persisted for the next 110 years. Sulla’s aurei were struck at 30 to the Roman pound, but by about 46 B.C. Other aurei followed, being struck by Pompey, Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Octavian and other generals. There was no need to strike gold again until the late 80s B.C., when the general Sulla introduced the aureus, a coin valued at 25 silver denarii. 211-208 B.C., and consisted of coins valued at 60, 40 and 20 copper asses. The next series was issued near the end of that war, c. Rome’s first gold coins were staters and half-staters of c.218-216 B.C., issued soon after Hannibal crossed the Alps at the start of the Second Punic War. Gold Coinage Gold did not become a regular part of the Roman monetary system until the age of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. with the bearded head of Janus and the prow of a war galley, above which is an "I" to mark its value.Ģ. ![]() Shown here is the most familiar Republican bronze: an as struck after 211 B.C. Many Republican bronzes are rare, and there is a wide variety of types and issuers. Because there were many different copper coins, the Romans used pellets, numerals and different designs to distinguish the denominations. onward, all Republican coins were struck. Copper Coinage Copper was the basis of the original Roman monetary system, and all silver and gold coins were valued in terms of the main copper unit, called an "as." For most of the third century B.C., the Romans cast their copper coins, but they sometimes struck them simultaneously, a practice that was regularized early in the Second Punic War (c.218-201 B.C.). Since a single column can only cover the basics, we’ve selected 10 topics that introduce the major denominations and reflect the development of Republican coinage.ġ. Republican coinage is both diverse and interesting, and traces the transformation of Rome from a vulnerable city to ruler of the Mediterranean world. Eventually it became standard that Roman coins were struck rather than cast. ![]() These objects did not meet the strict definition of coinage, but by about 300 B.C., bronze was being cast in ingots with designs. ![]() in the form of irregular cast lumps of copper now called aes rude. Up until the late third century B.C., the traditional metal of exchange in Central Italy was copper, which had been produced as "money" since at least the sixth century B.C. ![]() After getting off to a slow start in the late fourth and early third centuries B.C., coinage became important to the Romans, who issued them for about a millennium in the Republic and the Empire. Its coins bear attractive designs that often reflect events of the day or celebrate exploits of the past. The Roman Republic is one of the most avidly collected areas of ancient coinage.
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