As (unit)

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Ace section, Republican, approx. 270 BC Chr.

The as is the basic denomination of the Roman currency before the introduction of the denarius around 211 BC. It generally stood for an entire object, an inheritance (res ex asse ), a field or a single property. However, it could still be divided into twelfths (in ounces) or as a “multiple” whole if required or necessary.

The Ace was in the European Middle Ages and the early modern period also a smallest subdivision of Mark (weight) and pound (see, eg. As Dutch ace ).

Development of the coin unit

As with the creation of many ancient currencies , the development of this Roman coin was based on a unit of weight. The original form of the northern and central Italian As , the aes grave , initially weighed exactly one Roman pound ( libra ) and thus around 327.45 grams. According to Theodor Mommsen, the first round As coins are said to have existed as early as 451 BC. By the Decemvirn , according to Ernst Justus Haeberlin around 338 BC. Have been brought into circulation. Today it is more likely to be around 289 BC. From what is supposed to have to do with the establishment of the official mint at the temple of the goddess Juno Moneta in Rome.

But as early as the 3rd century BC In the 3rd century BC, the "coin" Libra pound was reduced by two ounces in relation to the trading pound to around 273 grams in adaptation to foreign, lighter pound coin feet. All the early As (partial) coins that were found show relatively large weight fluctuations of up to 30 percent, which makes it difficult to classify them in a row of coins. The heavy, round coin ace was first used in the 3rd century BC. Chr made in the full casting process, like a decorated bronze ax. Aes grave means freely translated: "Heavy ore ", where aes stands for copper or bronze. Its oldest forerunner, the Aes rude around 1500… 400 (300) BC. BC, was still a "rudimentary", raw copper or bronze cast regulus of around 2 to 2500 g without standardized weight and material and is probably to be regarded as private money. When paying for goods, it was weighed accordingly or smaller parts were knocked off from a larger piece and then weighed. Such forms of payment still existed later in the Middle Ages, e.g. B. with hacked silver or the ruble , and even in Southeast Asia until the early 20th century - here, however, in the form of silver or gold grains, as granules .

The intermediate form, the Aes signatum of the 4th and 3rd centuries BC Chr., The material was - at least with the same casting batch - a standardized bronze ingot in brick shape. He mostly carried pictures of animals on both sides, such as cattle, pigs, chickens (which was evidently symbolic of pecunia (Latin; dt. Fortune [of cattle])) or only pictures of ritual objects such as trident, herald's staff or offering bowl with additional ornaments . However, the Aes signatum did not yet have a strictly uniform weight and usually weighed several hundred grams. As a bar, it did not yet have the usual round coin shape. Due to its symbolism, this Aes was probably a (semi) state money token and raw material for weapons or consumer goods in one.

Various copper and bronze alloys have been used as coin metal for the As over the years .

While the early, round Aes grave -As coins represented the equivalent of the goods exchanged, i.e. were Kurant coins , they slowly declined to credit or denomination coins as early as the late Republican period .

In the course of the republic up to the middle imperial period the weight and thus the size of the ace shrank. B. in the most popular " Janus head - Prora series", to more manageable forms, namely over the libral, semilibral up to the (semi-) uncial coin foot. The motifs of the early, frequent Prora series were the heads of gods and herons - such as Janus for an As, Jupiter for ½ As, Minerva for ⅓ As, Hercules for ¼ As, Mercurius for 1/6 As and Roma or Bellona for 1 / 12 As (= 1 Uncia). In addition to the images of the gods, a denomination of value was often also shown on the coin, e.g. E.g. with the ace often a Roman one (|), with the semis-ace an (S) or less often six points (******) for six ounces, with the 1/6 ace two points (**) and with the 1 / 12 As, the Uncia, one point (*). The later As motifs of the imperial era were designed like those of the denarii.

The ace as "Aes grave" changed from an originally independent bronze or copper curant coin of northern and central Italy of the republic times to a divisional coin within an all-Roman - still early - imperial gold-silver currency system. In the late phase of the “aes grave” currency, i.e. before the republican denarius coin reform, there was a silver, Greek-influenced drachma currency with bronze partial drachms, the litra (= litra) in the southern Roman provinces and Sicily, which was also partly minted in Rome Libra, Litron), in circulation. See also Quadrigatus and Victoriatus in addition . Both currency systems, the northern and central Italian heavy Kurant bronze ace and the lighter silver southern Italian-Sicilian drachma, merged when the republican denarius was introduced around 211 BC. BC, according to older authors as early as around 250 BC. BC, for the new republican denarius as currency. This merging process of both older currency systems was favored by the high copper demand for war goods, such as weapons, so that silver based on the Greek model as the main means of payment finally appeared to be more suitable and advantageous in Rome due to its higher value density and thus better manageability. This process cannot be dated exactly to one year - but it can be assumed that all three monetary systems, the two older and the new as well as small remnants of the very old “Aes rude and Aes signatum” monetary symbols, will work in parallel for many years in the 3rd Century BC In and around Rome. Around 200 BC Then the new denarius-as-kurant bimetallic currency based on silver and bronze should have finally prevailed. Ultimately, after 27 (13) B.C. In a further currency reform under Emperor Augustus, the aureus denarius as currency based on gold and silver was introduced, with the bronze as now finally becoming a dividing coin.

The production technology of Ace changed with the weight and size reductions by pour casting towards the stamping process, the relatively heavy As- flans (discs, plates), however, have long been very cast, which also applied to Denar or Aureus.

Under Augustus, the As coin took on the shape and size that was common in the imperial era (approx. 23–27 mm and around 10–12 g) and then had the weight of an early uncia shortly after 289 BC. Chr.

The value of the coin remained fairly stable during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. So says Suetonius that you could earn a daily living for the equivalent of two aces. Different forms, weight and coin metal ( bronze , brass ) also hardly influenced their value as a dividing coin within the Roman Empire.

Like most coins of the late Roman Empire, the ace fell victim to galloping inflation . This began increasingly at the end of the 2nd century AD, parallel to the decline of the denarius. The ace then disappeared from the scene around 275 AD, as the double denarius ( antoninian ) was already cheaper than the ace in its manufacture and in the material costs due to the lack of a steadily decreasing silver content, although a nominal 32 aces were an antoninian. The quarter ace, the quadrans, disappeared as early as the 2nd century AD.

In some Roman-Greek cities of the imperial era, the copper As as Assarion , the double As as Di-Assarion, the eightfold As as Octo-Assarion and the tenfold As as Deka-Assarion were regionally minted and so called.

The designation “As (s)” lives on today in the name of the highest playing card in many card games.

As values ​​(Republic from around 350 BC to Imperial times around 210 AD)

1. Subdivision of the Kurant coin as “Aes grave” (= heavy ore coin ) until shortly before the introduction of silver denarius around 211 BC B.C. as an independent bronze currency roughly parallel to the southern Italian-Sicilian drachma-litra currency, a silver-bronze currency:

  • 1 As = 12 unciae, the uncia ("twelfth", German roughly: " ounce ") is the basic division of the nominal As
  • 1 As = 6 sextantes, 1 sextans ("sixths") = 1/6 As = 2 unciae
  • 1 As = 4 Quadrantes, 1 Quadrans ("quarter") = ¼ As = 3 Unciae
  • 1 As = 3 Trientes, 1 Triens ("third") = ⅓ As = 2 Sextantes = 4 Unciae
  • 1 As = 2 semis, 1 semis ("half") = ½ As = 2 quadrantes = 6 unciae

In addition, there were 2, 3, 5 and 10-fold As (heavy ore) coins in low frequency as well as half and rare quarter ounces.

2. Classification of the Kurant coin ace , which has already been reduced in weight from the introduction of silver denarius around 211 BC. Chr to about 130 BC BC - together in a silver-bronze currency:

  • 1 denarius (silver) = 2 quinars (silver) = 4 sesterces (silver) = 10 as (bronze)

3. Classification of the Kurantmünzen-As according to As-devaluation (price and weight correction) from about 130 to 27 BC. BC - together in a silver-bronze currency:

  • 1 denarius (silver) = 2 quinars (silver) = 4 sesterces (silver) = 16 as (bronze)
Ace of Nero (54-68)

4. Division of the Scheidemünzen-Ace into the Reformed coin denominations of Emperor Augustus from around 27 BC. In an initial gold-silver Kurant currency; valid until 3rd century AD:

  • 1 aureus (gold) = 25 denarii (silver)
  • 1 Quinarius aureus = 12 ½ denarii (silver)
  • 1 denarius = 2 quinars (silver)
  • 1 quinar = 2 sesterces (brass, late S. also bronze)
  • 1 sesterce = 2 dupondia (brass, late D. also bronze)
  • 1 dupondius ("double") = 2 asses (bronze / copper)
  • 1 As = 2 semis (-As) (bronze / copper)
  • 1 semis = 2 Quadran (te) s (-As) (bronze / copper)
  • 1 Quadrans = 2 Octans (only under Trajan )

The silver quinar of the republic and also of the imperial era was minted relatively rarely. Semis and quadrans weren't very common either. Instead of the rare quadrant, As coins were often quartered for small payments, urban tokens in the form of coins or foreign small bronzes were used. The early very rare Roman gold staters, the Roman 20, 40 and 60 As emergency gold coins and early aurei from before 27 BC. Chr. Can hardly be compared in terms of their value with the As and, due to their rarity, were hardly in daily circulation. They were more of a parallel currency to the everyday Kurant currency. Their gold value was estimated to be higher than they would have officially brought in when they were exchanged for silver denarii, so they were hoarded or only used to pay for goods of the highest quality.

Further derivations

There are also:

Further divisions:

  • Quincunx ("five ounces", bronze) = 5/12 As = 5 unciae
  • Bes = 2/3 As = 2 Trientes = 8 Unciae
  • Dodrans = 3/4 As = 3 Quadrantes = 9 Unciae
  • Dextans = 5/6 As = 5 Semisses = 10 Unciae

The three- and five-division coins are quite rare and serve as compensation coins for foreign currencies, such as decussis, dextans, quincussis, quincunx, for the currency of eastern Italian tribes whose coin system is divided into decimal places.

Uncia (*), Sextans (**), Quadrans (***), Triens (****) and Quincunx (*****) had stamped value points that correspond to today's sides of a dice in the picture .

literature

Web links

Commons : As  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Peter Lichtenberger: The As. In: imperium-romanum.com, version XLIX. March 3, 2008, accessed April 15, 2008 .
  2. ↑ Quincunx. (No longer available online.) In: Anumis Münzen Lexikons. Sommer & Co. GmbH, archived from the original on August 25, 2009 ; Retrieved April 15, 2008 .