Assarion
The Assarion ( Greek ἀσσάριον ) was the nominal name of a small coin made of bronze in antiquity, which was minted in the Greek provinces of the Roman Empire for local and regional payment transactions. It may have been equivalent to the Roman ace at times , but at least it was not always comparable in value. Like the As, after whose Latin subsidiary form of the name - assarius - the Assarion is named, it was also coined as a multiple, for example as Di-Assarion (double assarion). The minting of all provincial denominations ended with the coin reform of the Emperor Diocletian , with which the entire Roman coinage was unified.
layout
The design of the Assarion differed significantly from the As of the Latin parts of the empire. In its final phase, the Assarion had a considerably smaller diameter than the As, but a much thicker flan in comparison . These planets resemble those of the so-called tetradrachms , which were minted in the final phase of their manufacture in the Roman province of Egypt and were greatly reduced in diameter and value in relation to the original tetradrachms made of silver in Greek times. Both denominations of Assarion showed the portrait of the emperor on the obverse . The back of the Assarion mostly showed motifs with local traditions. The Assarion bears Greek inscriptions instead of Latin.
literature
- Wilhelm Kubitschek : Ἀσσάριον . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, Sp. 1742-1744.
- Hans-Dietrich Schultz: Ancient coins. Picture book for the exhibition of the coin cabinet in the antique collection in the Pergamonmuseum. Potsdam 1997, ISBN 3-88609-283-6 .
- Christopher Howgego: Money in the Ancient World. Second edition. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2011, ISBN 978-3-8053-4322-0 .
