Introduction to Roman Coins and Brief history of Roman Coins
One of the most fascinating ways of learning about ancient Rome is by
studying its coins. Roman coins were not just a monetary system, but
physical reflections on the time they were minted. Some have faces of
the Emperors, some celebrate the gods of the pre-Christian time, and
many fascinating allegorical and mythical symbols were also put on
coins.
Roman coins can be roughly categorized into four historic periods: early
Republican, late Republican, early Imperial, and late Imperial. The
earliest Republican money was uncoined bronze.
Cast bronze bars also preceded the aes grave, which were cast coins with
different weights and face values. The aes grave were minted in Rome
under government supervision. The standard of the time was the one pound
bronze as. The usual as bore the head of Janus looking to either side
and the prow of a boat. Many asses (plural of as) were crude and poorly
struck.
 Roman
armies moving southward encountered silver coins being used by Greek
colonies. By 269 B.C. the Romans were also minting silver coins called
denarii. These silver coins were used in the southern regions and
circulated independently from the bronze coins. They were accepted as
payment in Greek territories even though the regions issued their own
coins. Early denarii had the head of Roma on one side and the heavenly
twins Castor and Pollux on the other. In the late Roman Republic,
elected magistrates who issued coinage used coins as a method of
communicating their loyalties to specific Roman generals, who were often
in conflict with each other.
 Coins
of this time promoted causes, famous names, and victories in battle.
Some of those big names were Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, Marc
Antony, and Brutus. Historians attribute the end of the Roman Republic
to various events during this era, such as Julius Caesar’s reign as
dictator that ended in assassination in 44 B.C., and the powers granted
to Octavian (who became the Emperor Augustus) in 27 B.C. By the time
of the early Roman Empire and the first emperor, Augustus, in 27 B.C.,
denarii had been around for 180 years. Augustus added a large brass coin
called the sestertius which was around 33 mm in diameter, with a
thickness of about 4 mm. These larger coins allowed emperors of the time
to add more in the way of titles for themselves in the inscriptions.
Roman coins of this period bore images of allegorical figures, and
sometimes of the wives and other relatives of the Emperor. This type of
coinage was the standard in the Roman Empire for 200 years.
The late Imperial period begins with the Emperor Diocletian, who became
Emperor in 285 A.D. This period was characterized by inscriptions in
Latin and mint marks on the coins. By this time, Rome had begun its long
decline that reached its nadir in the fifth century, and this was
reflected in the coins. Less silver was used, and inflation increased.
Coins began to decrease in size and quality of artwork. Many new
denominations came into use as the empire crumbled. Perhaps the most
collected of the Roman coins are the ones that circulated near the time
of the death of Jesus Christ. But other people collect coins depicting a
favorite Emperor, or covering the various regions of the time when Rome
was a republic. Some collect based on the type of metal used. There were
enough Roman coins struck that a person just getting started with
collecting can begin on a limited budget and pursue any number of
different themes. |
