Denarius Coinage of 211 BC

Denarius Coinage

The Second Punic War ended with Roman victory, which came at a huge cost, financial was well as human.   During the war, the silver didrachms (quadrigati) were reduced in purity and size and the cast bronze coins (aes grave) reduced in size.


In 211 BC (the exact date of the introduction of the denarius was debated in the past, but most now accept 211 BC), a major reform of the coinage was enacted.   The debased quadrigati were replaced by a 10-as coin called the Denarius; there was a 5-as coin, the Quinarius and a 2.5-as coin, the Sestertius.   Additionally, there was another silver denomination, the Victoriatus (the name of this coin isn't known from antiquity, its modern name derives from its featuring Victory with a trophy on the reverse).   For the bronze coins, the as was now a struck coin of about 50g, with fractions - semis, triens, quadrans, sextans, uncia as before.   For a short time, gold coins were struck, in 20-, 40- and 60-as denominations.

Here's an early denarius

And a quinarius:

 And a sestertius:

There's a uniform design across the three main silver denominations - Roma in helmet on the obverse and the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) riding on the reverse.   Marks of value are on the obverse - X for ten asses, V for five and II S for 2.5 asses (two asses plus one semis).   The denarius initially weighed about 4.5g, the quinarius 2.2g and the sestertius 1.1g.

The bronze coins of the period had standard designs too - the prow of a galley on the reverse, with different obverse types and value marks, depending on the denomination:

• Janus - as - I
• Saturn - semis - S
• Minerva - triens - four pellets
• Hercules - quadrans - three pellets
• Mercury - sextans - two pellets
• Roma - uncia - one pellet

Examples of these coins are below:

The as - this is a relatively early example, well-worn.   There is a I over the Janiform heads and a dolphin symbol on the reverse, to the right of the galley:

A semis - S to the left of Saturn and over the galley on the reverse

A triens - four pellets above Minerva and under the galley:

A quadrans - three pellets behind Hercules and below the galley:

 A sextans - two pellets above Mercury and two under the galley.   There is also a letter L between the pellets on the reverse.   This signifies the mint where the coin was minted - Luceria:

And finally, the uncia - a single pellet behind Roma and under the galley.   I may be cheating here - this uncia probably pre-dates the denarius coinage :)

For nearly 20 years there were no innovations in the coin designs - the designs were fixed apart from symbols which were sometimes used - for example, the denarius above has a staff under the horses and the as has the dolphin.

In 194 BC, a change to the reverse was made - the Dioscuri were replaced by Luna driving a biga (chariot pulled by two horses) and later Victory driving a biga was tried.   Shortly after, the moneyers for each year started to put abbreviated versions of their names on the coins and then to change the designs each year.   The organisation of the Roman mint was such that three officials were appointed to oversee it each year, for a one-year term.   It wasn't a very high-ranking post - some moneyers went on to greater things, while others are known only from their coins.

Tune in next time for some of the more exciting later denarius issues :D