Roman currency

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Aureus , 36 BC Chr.
Denarius , Augustus era, turning point
As , Republican, 270 B.C. Chr.

Under Roman currency means the totality of the ancient Roman Empire common means of payment.

history

republic

Before the introduction of a single currency

Roman currency

Before the beginning of a single currency, the economy was based on two main forms of value : cattle (Latin pecus ), from which the Roman name for “money” (Latin pecunia ) is derived, and irregularly shaped pieces of bronze called aes rude . The value of these primitive coins was determined by weighing, as there were no uniform denominations of coins at that time . It is still unclear from what point in time money was in circulation, but there is written evidence that since the siege of Veji in 406 BC The soldiers of the Roman army were paid with aera rudia. This suggests that Aes rude was widely used before.

The first money of the Roman Republic dates from the 4th century BC. They were cast rectangular bronze ingots that Aes signatum are called, mainly in Rome were minted. They are tightly sealed and are characterized by the inscription ROMANOM (from the Romans). The bars weighed different amounts, although their weight was actually fixed at five Roman pounds . At first only one side of the bar was designed, later both. The actual function of these bars is interpreted in different ways; The bars were a means of payment, but they were not coins because they did not meet the weight requirements of five Roman pounds. The bars lost more and more importance after the introduction of a single currency, around 250 BC. Production was stopped.

The first coins

As, around 220 BC. Chr.

According to Pomponius , a consultant who worked during the second century B.C. Lived the first mint masters in 289 BC. Chr. Set. They signed the coins with “III. VIR. AAAFF ", which is the abbreviation for tres viri aere argento auro flando feriundo and means something like" The three (mint masters) are responsible for melting down and striking bronze , silver and gold . "According to Suda , the mint of Rome was in the temple the Juno Moneta on the Capitol . At this time the Romans were familiar with minting coins, as the Greek colonies of Metapont , Crotone and Sybaris had been in Italy since around 500 BC. Coins minted, Naples since around 450 BC. BC Rome had in the 4th century BC BC already conquered a large part of central Italy . Large quantities of bronze coins were minted in the mints, but relatively few silver coins.

A system for bronze coins was introduced which is now known as the Aes grave . Due to their size differences and the fact that the coins were minted less often than cast, they were clearly Roman, as they differed from other coins that were struck in the Mediterranean region at this time by their coarse, sometimes even barbaric style. The money was initially fiat money and was based on the commercial system. That means the ace weighed one Roman pound. The Roman pound was divided into unciae . A Roman pound was made up of twelve unciae. The uncia thus denoted one twelfth of a Roman pound and was also a denomination of coins. That changed, however, after the weight of the Aes grave by about 270 BC. BC to 10 Unciae, around 215 BC BC, during the Second Punic War on 5 Unciae and around 211 BC. Had fallen to 1–1.5 Unciae.

At the beginning of Roman coinage, the Aes grave were not signed, only around the year 210 BC. The first abbreviations of the mint masters appeared on the denominations. The motif of all early Roman coins is a ship's hull ( prora ) on the reverse , which was supposed to commemorate the conquest of the Antium fleet , and various images of gods on the obverse. Until about 110 BC Different series of coins were issued. All the coins in a row bore a certain characteristic, such as an ear of corn or the signature of a mint master. Often a series contained the denarius as the largest denomination of coins, then came the As , the Semis , the Triens , the Quadrans , the Sextans , the Uncia and occasionally the Semuncia . Towards the end of the republic, however, these series were hardly pronounced, the minting of the smaller denominations such as sextans and uncia was discontinued.

Here is a list of the Roman coin types, starting with the largest value:

Designation of bronze coins according to Crawford (1974)
coin Stamps Earliest
copy 		Date
(BC) 		Value
(in aces ) 		Value
(in unciae )
Decussis X Cr. 41/1 215-212 10 120
Quincussis V Cr. 41/2 215-212 5 60
Tressis III Cr. 41/3 215-212 3 36
Dupondius II Cr. 41/4 215-212 2 24
As I. Cr. 14/1 280-276 1 12
Dextans S **** Cr. 97/23 211-208 5/6 10
Dodrans S *** Cr. 266/2 126 3/4 9
Bes S ** Cr. 266/3 126 2/3 8th
Semis S. Cr. 14/2 280-276 1/2 6th
Quincunx ***** Cr. 97/11 211-208 5/12 5
Triens **** Cr. 14/3 280-276 1/3 4th
Quadrans *** Cr. 14/4 280-276 1/4 3
Sextans ** Cr. 14/5 280-276 1/6 2
Uncia * Cr. 14/6 280-276 1/12 1
Semuncia Σ Cr. 14/7 280-276 1/24 1/2
Quartuncia Cr. 38/8 217-215 1/48 1/4

Minting in the Greek style

Bronze coins in the Greek style were used as early as 300 BC. BC with the inscription PΩMAIΩN in small numbers. Few of these pieces still exist today. It is believed that they were minted in Naples on behalf of Rome ; they are based on the same style as the neaplian currency. The coins promoted trade when the construction of the Via Appia began in 312 BC. Chr.

Crawford 13-1 Reverse.jpg
First Roman silver coin, 281 BC. Chr.

281 BC BC Rome started a war against Taranto ; the Tarentines enlisted the assistance of Pyrrhus . In this context, Rome had the first silver coin minted that corresponded to the value of a Roman didrachm .

First Roman didrachm

On the obverse of this coin is a bearded Martian head looking to the left and wearing a Corinthian helmet. On the lapel is a head of a horse looking to the right with the inscription ROMANO, behind it an ear of corn.

This coin was minted in Magna Graecia and Campania , where it was mostly used. This imprint was obviously part of a forward trend; The payment of the Roman troops and their allies in the Pyrrhic War seems to have been decisive for the distribution of Greek coins in the regions south of the Apennines in Italy. Nowadays it is believed that this coin was minted in Naples, as it corresponded to the then prevailing standard of 7.3 g. In Metapont , Taranto, and other southern cities in Italy, the standard was 7.9 g, but dropped to 6.6 g during the Pyrrhic War. It used to be assumed that the Metapontium was the minting location of this type, as the ear of corn is very common on coins from Metapontium. Another sign was the Martian head, which resembles the head of Leucippus , which is depicted on a type of coin that was minted at an earlier time in Metapont.

Additional silver coins were issued over the next few years. Not only were the motifs on the coins taken from Greek coinage, but also the face value. The first silver coins were called the drachm or didrachm . The first Roman silver coin believed to have been minted in Rome was made around 269 BC. Beaten. This coin is dated this year, as the emblems on the issue correspond to those of the consuls of that year: Quintus Ogulnius Gallus and his brother Cnaeus Ogulnius Pictor . These operated as aediles moneylending; Part of the proceeds were used to erect a statue of the twin wolf suckling Romulus and Remus near the Ficus Ruminalis . On the obverse of the coin the head of Hercules looking to the right can be seen, on the lapel the twins Romulus and Remus, who are suckled by the she-wolf. Hercules, depicted with a lion skin and club, was the divine patron saint of the Fabians . Some historians suggest that the value of this didrachm was ten aces , as was the denarius , which was to be introduced a good fifty years later. This assumption is based on the assumption of Pliny in the 1st century AD, who claims that the denarius was used as early as 269 BC. Was introduced. Most historians suspect, however, that this coin is a didrachm and not a denarius.

Until the introduction of the Quadrigatus, Roman coins were minted only in small quantities. The Quadrigatus has been around since about 235 BC. Chr. Made in quite a large edition. The name of this denomination is derived from the lapel , on which the goddess Victoria can be seen driving in a quadriga . This denomination was minted for two decades, the silver content of the coin was reduced by 30 percent during the Second Punic War .

The denar system

The introduction of denarius, quinars, sesterces and gold aces
Sesterz, 211 BC Chr.

The denarius , which would become the leading currency of the Roman Empire for over four centuries , was introduced in 211 BC. Introduced. This denomination was initially expressed in large quantities; the silver required for this came from the sacking of Syracuse in 212 BC. The denarius had the value of ten aces and was marked by the number X. Its weight was about 4.5 g, which corresponds to one seventy-second of the Roman pound. In addition, two more coin denominations were introduced: the quinarius nummus , which corresponded to half a denarius and was marked with the value number V, and the sesterce , which corresponded to a quarter denarius and was marked with the IIS value. The helmeted head of the goddess Roma can be seen on the obverse of all these denominations , while riding Dioscuri are depicted on the reverse (an allusion to their supposed participation in the battle of Regillus lacus ). The design of the denarii is varied, as the individual mint masters could design the coins freely. Most of these "family coins" feature motifs from mythology and Roman history as well as ancestors of the mint masters. Julius Caesar was the first living person to be depicted on a Roman coin, but not until February, the year of his death, 44 BC. When the Senate granted him a corresponding right. Caesar had a large number of "his" coins minted in the short time leading up to his murder. In the period that followed, pictures of living Roman politicians increased, and for the first time their wives were also found on coins called consular coins (also known as family coins ).

The minting of bronze aces continued, the standard weight of this nominal coin was 55 g; however, that weight was quickly reduced to a twelfth of a Roman pound , about 32 grams. At the time, the number of aces minted exceeded that of the other denominations, possibly due to soldiers' pay payments, where the ace was the most important component.

The first Roman gold coins were made around 216 BC. Minted. The denominations of these coins were stater and half stater and both were minted in Rome . The heads of the Dioscuri with a laurel wreath can be seen on the obverse of these embossments, and three people can be recognized on the lapel: a Roman, an Italian and a knee-leather man holding a pig that is touched by the swords of the two standing men ROMA. During this time, the Carthaginian general Hannibal continued to advance during the Second Punic War, and Rome made alliances with Italian cities against Hannibal. The depiction is interpreted as a Roman oath associated with the raising of new troops at the time of the Battle of Cannae . However, this nominal was already used around the year 213 BC. Replaced by the so-called "gold aces". The gold aces come in three different denominations: 20 with the mark XX, 40 with the mark XXXX and 60 with the mark ↓ X. All these coins show on the obverse a bearded Martian head with a helmet, on the lapel an eagle standing with outstretched wings on a bolt of lightning; the eagle possibly refers to the eagle of the Ptolemaic coinage since the beginning of the 3rd century BC. It is also assumed that Ptolemy IV provided gold for these coins; He probably wanted to counterbalance the participation of Philip V , who was on the side of the Carthaginians.

The Victoriatus , another silver coin, was introduced in large numbers at the same time. This denomination seems to have been produced separately from the denarius system according to a different standard. Its weight is roughly equivalent to that of a simple drachma. While an analysis of 52 early denarii, quinaries and sesterces had a silver content of 96.2 ± 1.09 percent, this value was between 72 and 93 percent in 19 Victorians examined. Early Victoriate were found mainly in Sicily and southern Italy. It is assumed that this denomination, which weighs 3.41 g and thus corresponds to the value of 3/4 denarius, was not intended for the Roman coin system, but for other areas. For this reason it had no stamp, the value was determined by the value of the material.

The development of weight and degree of fineness

Over the next 40 years, the denarius lost its weight. The reason for this is unclear and at the beginning it was probably related to the Second Punic War. As a result of this war, the Roman state owed its citizens about a million denarii. These were not repaid in full for 25 years until they were recovered under Cn Manlius Vulso by the spoils of the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC. Were paid for. Originally there were 72 denarii for one Roman pound; at that time the value changed to 84 denarii. During the following decades, the weight of the denarius remained relatively stable.

Denarius under Mark Antony , 32 BC Chr.
date Weight
211 BC Chr. 4.5 g
206 BC Chr. 4.2 g
199-190 BC Chr. 3.9 g
179-170 BC Chr. 3.7 g

The silver content of the denarius during the time of the Roman Republic was over 90%, usually even 95%, with the exception of the later minting by Marcus Antonius , especially the massive “legionary” minting in the years 32/31 BC. Shortly before the battle of Actium . Rumor has it that the silver needed for this was provided by Cleopatra .

The evolution of silver coins in relation to bronze coins

Around 140 BC BC - the exact date is unknown - the value of the denarius was fixed at 16 aces, which is attested by the inscription XVI on the obverse of the denarius. This inscription appears for the first time on a denarius with the mint master's mark L. IULI (Crawford 224/1), which dates back to 141 BC. Is dated. The marking XVI was soon replaced by X, that is, the Roman numeral for 10. However, a vertical line was often drawn through the middle of the X; this "X with line" is often interpreted as a monogram of XVI, in which all numerals are superimposed. It is assumed that the change in value of a denarius is the identification of a ratio that has developed due to the decrease in weights - as a result of the use of "old" aces and the decrease in weight of "newer" aces. Thus the value of a quinar was eight aces and that of a sesterce was four aces. The new relationship between denarii and aces lasted for centuries to come.

The Victoriatus also circulated in the 2nd century BC. Chr. Further. Victoriate were later common in regions like Gallia Cisalpina , where they circulated alongside drachmas from Marseille .

The development of gold coins

The 60 , 40 and 20 gold aces coins were minted for only a few years. In the past, gold coins were only used as backup coins. 83 BC The gold aces were replaced by the aureus . This denomination gained more and more importance towards the end of the Roman Republic and was soon indispensable in Roman coinage. As on the denarii, the aurei gods were depicted on the obverse and various motifs on the reverse , referring to important victories of the Roman armies or the mint master.

Caesar and Imperial Era

The following comprehensive currency reform was carried out under Caesar himself and Augustus :

  • 1 aureus (gold) = 25 denarii [silver]
  • 1 denarius = 4 sesterces [brass]
  • 1 sesterce = 2 dupondia [bronze, later brass]
  • 1 dupondius = 2 aces [copper]
  • 1 As = 2 semis [copper / bronze]
  • 1 semis = 2 quadrants [copper]

So it was: 1 aureus = 25 deniers = 100 sesterces = 200 dupondia = 400 aces = 800 semis = 1600 quadrants

Up until the 3rd century there were also a large number of local coins, which never used gold and only rarely silver, and Egypt also kept its own currency system for a long time (except for gold). The scheme of the imperial currency lasted for around two centuries and served as the basis for all further coin reforms that became necessary with the inflation that began around 220 and has been galloping for around 270. Most of the coins of the early and high imperial period bore the image of the emperor with almost always the same (but differently abbreviated) lettering on the front:

Imperator Caesar (name)  Augustus   Pontifex Maximus - tribunicia potestate (year)  Consul (year)  Pater patriae

Especially at the beginning of this era there were still deviations in the design. The years, which indicate the repeated award of the respective official dignity, are the most important tool for dating the coin and thus often an archaeological find; however, not all coins can be clearly dated (especially if the tribunicia potestas is missing ). Under Emperor Claudius , family members of the emperor appeared on the coins for the first time. On the back there were various representations: gods, personified countries, rivers or cities, as well as images that pointed to warlike or political successes as well as building projects of the respective emperor. A particularly large silver coin, the Antoninian, was introduced under Caracalla . Under Decius , a large bronze coin with a value of 2 sesterces came into circulation for a short time, which today is simply interpreted as "double sesterces". As with the Antoninian, a contemporary name has not been passed down.

Overall, the Roman coinage declined noticeably since the 3rd century. The first coin deterioration was carried out by Nero , after which the system remained largely stable for about 130 years. But from the Severians and especially under the soldier emperors, the process accelerated. For example, in the middle of the 3rd century, silver coins sometimes contained only one twentieth of silver. Allegedly after a bloodily suppressed uprising by the Münzer, Emperor Aurelian and his leading financial politician Gaius Valarius Sabinus made a first attempt at reform around 270, but this failed and is even considered by some researchers to be the cause of the increased inflation in the following period. Then, under Diocletian, intensified efforts began to reform the coins. So again pure silver denarii and a new bronze coin with silver, the follis , were minted. Constantine the Great introduced a number of new coins at the beginning of the 4th century: a large gold coin ( solidus ), a small silver coin ( siliqua ) and a copper coin ( centenionalis ). The solidus in particular proved to be very successful; the coin remained essentially stable for centuries and formed the basis of the Roman monetary system in late antiquity .

In the early and high imperial period, only Rome itself and Lugdunum were permanent mints. Smaller imperial mints in the provinces initially only existed for a short period (as mentioned, there were also copper and bronze coins in individual cities, especially in the east). It was not until the 3rd century that minting was further decentralized because the transport of coins to the provinces had become more and more dangerous due to the imperial crisis and the barbarian invasions . Parallel to this development, the artistic quality and the richness of detail of the embossed images decreased more and more - what can still be explained with a changed style consciousness in the 4th century is clearly due to the lack of skill of the die cutters from the 5th century onwards. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the late Roman coinage then slowly passed into the early medieval (in the west) or Byzantine (in the east), whereby many lines of tradition were preserved.

Provincial coins

In some of the Roman provinces, Roman coinage was not adopted, but its own coins were minted. The Alexandrian coins in particular differed significantly from the Roman Empire coins. At least the Alexandrian coins were purely internal currencies , i. H. the "Alexandrines" were only used in the province of Egypt and imperial Roman coins were not used in payment transactions. The central denomination of the Alexandrian coins was the billon tetradrachm, which, however, gradually declined to a bronze coin with ever smaller silver content. In the Greek provinces in Asia there was a currency of their own based on the Assarion , which was also expressed as a multiple to ten times its value. Only with the reforms of the Tetrachian Emperor Diocletian was the minting of own coins for the provinces ended.

East stream

In the course of the later 5th century, the Eastern Roman coins increasingly diverged from the Roman models. Emperor Anastasius finally reformed the silver, copper and bronze currency and introduced new copper coins with the follis in 498 , which numismatists traditionally regard as the beginning of Byzantine coin history, although numerous Roman coin designs and denominations (especially the solidus and the smaller gold coins) also Remained in use in the 6th century and sometimes even longer. Nevertheless, the embossed images changed more and more. The artistry of the portraits declined even further after Justinian , and there were almost no references to contemporary historical events on the backs, but only general indications of fame for the emperor. Noteworthy is the hexagram (m) , a silver coin introduced around 615 with the legend Deus adiuta Romanis (“God, help the Romans”), which was struck in connection with the Persian War of Herakleios . This was also the last new Latin inscription on coins in Ostrom, where shortly afterwards Greek became the sole administrative language, with which the tradition of late Roman coinage also came to an end. Later, the Scyphaten , bowl-shaped, domed coins, which were minted since the 11th century, were an unusual form of coin .

The coins of the Islamic world developed partly from Eastern Roman-Byzantine, partly from Sassanid models. The oldest of these dinars (from Latin denarius ) were minted at the end of the 7th century. However, the Mongol invasion in the 13th century interrupted the Middle Eastern coin tradition. Only with the rise of Turkey and the renaissance of Persia were coins minted again in this region.

Radiance to the early Middle Ages

The Germanic-ruled empires of the Migration Period generally minted coins well into the 6th century , which were based either on the Western or Eastern Roman model and for a long time (at least with gold coins) also showed the image of the respective emperor - as a symbol for the Recognition of his formal sovereignty. In this way, the late Roman coins had a massive influence on the currencies of the European early Middle Ages, especially since solidi remained in use in the West until the High Middle Ages.

List of all known Roman coin types

Gold coins

Silver coins

Bronze , copper and brass coins

Medallions

In numismatics, medallions are special Roman coins that were used as tributes , collectors' items or awards in the form of an order . Strictly speaking, these were particularly magnificently decorated, large-format coins. Medallions were married in the late imperial era; Very few medallions have survived from the previous years.

Important other coin reforms

literature

  • Michael H. Crawford : Roman Republican Coinage. 2 vols. University Press, Cambridge 1974.
  • Michael H. Crawford: Coinage and Money under the Roman Republic. Methuen & Co., London 1985.
  • Manfred Beier: The coinage of the Roman Empire . Gietl, Regenstauf 2002. ISBN 3-924861-54-4
  • Hermann Junghans: The development of the representation of violence on coins of the Roman Republic , Geldgeschichtliche Nachrichten, March 2011, pages 69–73
  • Hermann Junghans: The development of depictions of violence on coins from the Roman Empire , Geldgeschichtliche Nachrichten, May 2011, pages 127-133
  • Hermann Junghans: Government duties on Roman coins , Geldgeschichtliche Nachrichten, September 2011, pages 244–249
  • Björn Ralph Kankelfitz: Roman coins. From Pompey to Romulus. With an introduction to the entire Roman coinage up to the end of the Byzantine Empire . Battenberg, Augsburg / Munich 1996, 2003. ISBN 3-89441-549-5
  • John PC Kent: Roman Coins . Hirmer, London 1978.
  • Rainer Albert : The coins of the Roman Republic . Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf 2003. ISBN 978-3-924861-76-6
  • Ursula Kampmann : The coins of the Roman Empire . Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf 2004. ISBN 978-3-89441-549-5
  • Ursula Kampmann / Thomas Ganschow: The coins of the Roman mint Alexandria. Gietl Verlag, Regenstauf 2008. ISBN 978-3-86646-027-0

Web links

Commons : Roman currency  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Suda , keyword Moneta ( Μονήτα ), Adler number: mu 1220 , Suda-Online
  2. ^ Cassius Dio : Roman History , 44th book, chap. 4.4