The denarius (; : dēnāriī, ; symbol: 𐆖) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War Crawford, Michael H. (1974). Roman Republican Coinage, Cambridge University Press, 2 Volumes. to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very small quantities, likely for ceremonial purposes, throughout the Tetrarchy (293–313).
The word dēnārius is derived from the Latin dēnī "containing ten", as it was originally worth 10 assēs.Its value was increased to 16 assēs in the middle of the 2nd century BC. The word for "money" descends from it in Italian (denaro), Slovene (denar), Portuguese (dinheiro), and Spanish (dinero). Its name also survives in the dinar currency.
Its symbol is represented in Unicode as 𐆖 (U+10196), a numeral monogram that appeared on the obverse in the Republican period, denoting the 10 asses ("X") to 1 denarius ("I") conversion rate.Before Unicode 5.1, published in April 2008, it could be approximated as X̶ (U+0058 , U+0336 ).
History
A predecessor of the denarius was first struck in 269 or 268 BC, five years before the First Punic War,A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D., John Murray, London 1875, pp. 393, 394. with an average weight of 6.81 grams, or of a Roman pound. Contact with the Greeks had prompted a need for silver coinage in addition to the bronze currency that the Romans were using at that time. This predecessor of the denarius was a Greek-styled silver coin of didrachm weight, which was struck in Neapolis and other Greek cities in southern Italy. These coins were inscribed with a legend that indicated that they were struck for Rome, but in style they closely resembled their Greek counterparts. They were rarely seen at Rome, to judge from finds and hoards, and were probably used either to buy supplies or to pay soldiers.
The first distinctively Roman silver coin appeared around 226 BC.The Numismatic Circular, Volume 8–9, Spink & Son, 1899–1900 Piccadilly West, London. Classical historians have sometimes called these coins "heavy denarii", but they are classified by modern numismatists as quadrigati, a term which survives in one or two ancient texts and is derived from the quadriga, or four-horse chariot, on the reverse. The four-horse chariot, together with the two-horse chariot, or biga, used as a reverse type for some early denarii, provided the prototypes for the most common designs used on Roman silver coins for a number of years.Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins. Oxford University Press, New York 1994.As the Romans Did, Jo-Ann Shelton. Oxford University Press, New York 1998Plutarch's Lives, Vol 2, John Langhorne, DD, William Langhorne, AM, London 1813.
Rome overhauled its coinage shortly before 211 BC, and introduced the denarius alongside a short-lived denomination called the victoriatus. The denarius contained an average of 4.5 grams of silver, or of a Roman pound, and was at first tariffed at ten asses, hence its name, which means 'tenner'. It formed the backbone of Roman currency throughout the Roman Republic and the early Empire.The New Deal in Old Rome, H. J. Haskell, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1939.
The denarius began to undergo slow debasement toward the end of the republican period. Under the rule of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) its weight fell to 3.9 grams (a theoretical weight of of a Roman pound). It remained at nearly this weight until the time of Nero (AD 37–68), when it was reduced to of a pound, or 3.4 grams. Debasement of the coin's silver content continued after Nero. Later Roman emperors also reduced its weight to 3 grams in the late 3rd century.Ancient Coin Collecting III: The Roman World: Politics and Propaganda, Wayne G. Sayles, pp. 21–22.
The value at its introduction was 10 asses, giving the denarius its name, which translates as "containing ten". In about 141 BC, it was re-tariffed at 16 asses, to reflect the decrease in weight of the as. The denarius continued to be the main coin of the Roman Empire until it was replaced by the antoninianus in the early 3rd century AD. The coin was last issued, in bronze, under Aurelian between 270 and 275 AD, and in the first years of the reign of Diocletian.
Debasement and evolution Year Event Weight Purity Notes. 267 BC Predecessor 6.81 g ? pound. Equals 10 assēs, giving the denarius its name, which translates as "containing ten". The original copper coinage was weight-based, and was related to the Roman pound, the libra, which was about 325 g. The basic copper coin, the as, was to weigh 1 Roman pound. This was a large cast coin, and subdivisions of the as were used. The "pound" (libra, etc.) continued to be used as a currency unit, and survives e.g. in the British monetary system, which still uses the pound, abbreviated as £. 211 BC Introduction 4.55 g 95–98% pound. Denarius first struck. According to Pliny, it was established that the denarius should be given in exchange for ten pounds of bronze, the quinarius for five pounds, and the sestertius for two and a half. But when the as was reduced in weight to one ounce, the denarius became equivalent to 16 assēs, the quinarius to eight, and the sestertius to four, although they retained their original names. It also appears, from Pliny and other writers, that the ancient libra was equivalent to 84 denarii. 200 BC Debasement 3.9 g 95–98% pound. 141 BC Debasement 3.9 g 95–98% pound. Retariffed to equal 16 assēs due to the decrease in weight of the as. 44 BC Debasement 3.9 g 95–98% Death of Julius Caesar, who set the denarius at 3.9 g. Legionary (professional soldier) pay was doubled to 225 denarii per year.14–37 AD 3.9 g 97.5–98% Tiberius slightly improved the fineness as he gathered his infamous hoard of 675 million denarii. 64–68 Debasement 3.41 g 93.5% pound. This more closely matched the Greek drachma. In 64 AD, Nero reduced the standard of the aureus to 45 to the Roman pound (7.2 g) and of the denarius to 96 to the Roman pound (3.30 g). He also lowered the denarius to 94.5% fine. Successive emperors lowered the fineness of the denarius; in 180 Commodus reduced its weight by one-eighth to 108 to the pound. 85–107 Debasement 3.41 g 93.5% Reduction in silver content under Domitian 148–161 Debasement 3.41 g 83.5% 193–235 Debasement 3.41 g 83.5% Several emperors (193–235) steadily debased the denarius from a standard of 78.5% to 50% fine. In 212 Caracalla reduced the weight of the aureus from 45 to 50 to the Roman pound. They also coined the aes from a bronze alloy with a heavy lead admixture, and discontinued fractional denominations below the as. In 215 Caracalla introduced the antoninianus (5.1 g; 52% fine), a double denarius, containing 80% of the silver of two denarii. The coin invariably carried the radiate imperial portrait. Elagabalus demonetized the coin in 219, but the senatorial emperors Pupienus and Balbinus revived the antoninianus in 238 as the principal silver denomination. Successive emperors then debased it into a less intrinsically valuable billon coin (2.60 g; 2% fine). 241 Debasement 3.41 g 48% 274 Double Denarius 3.41 g 5% In 274, the emperor Aurelian reformed the currency and his denominations remained in use until the great recoinage of Diocletian in 293. Aurelian struck a radiate aurelianianus of increased weight (84 to the Roman pound) and fineness (5% fine) that was tariffed at five notional denarii (sometimes called "common denarii" or "denarii communes" by modern writers, although this phrase does not appear in any ancient text). The coin carried on its reverse the numeral XXI, or the Greek numeral κα (both meaning 21 or 20:1). Some scholars believe that this shows that the coin was equal to 20 sestertii (or 5 denarii), but it is more likely that it was intended to guarantee that it contained or 5% of silver, and was thus slightly better than many of the coins in circulation. The aureus (minted at 50 or 60 to the Roman pound) was exchanged at rates of 600 to 1,000 denarii, equivalent to 120 to 200 aurelianiani. Rare fractions of billon denarii, and of bronze sestertii and assēs, were also coined. At the same time, Aurelian reorganized the provincial mint at Alexandria, and he minted an improved Alexandrine tetradrachmon that might have been tariffed at par with the aurelianianus.