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The denarius is the basic denomination in the Roman currency system,
a silver coin containing some bronze. The contemporary gold coin,
the aureus, was equivalent in value to 25 denarii. The relationship
of the denarius to other coins can be seen in the table.
Table: Monetary relationships of denominations in the first to
third centuries AD
| Denarius (silver) |
Sestertius (brass)
|
Dupondius (brass) |
As (copper) |
Semis (brass) |
Quadrans (copper)
|
| 1 |
4 |
8 |
16 |
32 |
64 |
| |
1 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
16 |
| |
|
1 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
| |
|
|
1 |
2 |
4 |
| |
|
|
|
1 |
2 |
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The images illustrates three of these denominations, a denarius,
sestertius and as. They also give some idea of
the range of conditions in which ancient coins are preserved, although
even the sestertius is a well preserved example of its type. The
smallest coin is 1.8cm in diameter. The coins are shown in their
correct size relative size to one another.
Table: Denarius, sestertius and as of the late first and early
second centuries AD
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A silver denarius of the emperor Trajan.
The obverse bears his bust, the reverse Trajan's column.
AD 112-14. (coin)
Image ownership:
Copyright Ashmolean Museum, University
of Oxford
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A sestertius of the emperor Hadrian.
The obverse bears the bust of Hadrian, the reverse a
personification of Fortune with a rudder, AD. 118
Image ownership:
Portable Antiquities Scheme
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An as of the emperor Domitian. The
obverse bears his bust, the reverse a scene commemorating
the Ludi Saeculares, including the emperor sacrificing
beforea temple with musicians.
AD 88
Image ownership:
Copyright Ashmolean Museum, University
of Oxford
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The Vindolanda tablets refer to several of these coins, including
denarii , dupondii, asses and victoriati
(323)
(a silver coin worth half a denarius, bearing an image
of Victory), as well as small change, aes minutum (327).
The terms semis and quadrans also appear in the
texts of the tablets, but these should not be confused with the
actual coins. Instead semis, quadrans as well as octans
refer to fractions of the denarius, respectively a half,
quarter and eighth of a denarius. In fact these words do
not themselves appear in the original tablets; rather they are the
terms which the editors supply to resolve recurring symbols in the
accounts. These Latin terms have no claim to be grammatically exact;
rather they indicate what these symbols are thought to represent.
The denarius is indicated by X
(i.e. because of its original value of 10 asses in the older Roman
coinage system), with the number of denarii following the
symbol. The sestertius is not referred to in the Vindolanda
tablets, but often appears on inscriptions, indicated by (which
corresponds to 'two plus a semis', i.e. two and a half bronze
asses in the older Roman coinage system), with a horizontal bar
across the numerals, so IIS.
The semis (ie. half a denarius, or eight asses)
is represented by s. The symbols to represent a quarter and
eighth of a denarius are complicated and not aways consistent. A
tablet to be published in volume III, (596),
a list of items with prices, gives both the price per unit, often
including fractions of the denarius, and the total price for a number
of units. Thus it enables the arithmetic to be checked and the different
symbols to be identified. The quarter is represented by a horizontal
dash with a vertical beneath it curling to the left; the eighth
is a horizontal dash with a short vertical descender. A cursive
a with a ligatured i or a horizontal tick, used singly and
multiply, can represent a sixteeenth of a denarius (an as).
Both conventions were used, sometimes in the same account (e.g.
182).
a is also used as an abbreviation for as in 192.5.
For further information on the use of money see Transport
and supplies in the exhibition.
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