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Silver Denarius of Vespasian by the American Numismatic Society-Wikimedia Commons.
10 Facts about currency and coins in Ancient Rome
Currency, in whatever form has always been a feature of almost every civilization. Long before Rome started minting coins, the Greeks had been doing so for centuries. Romans began minting at around 300 BC. Until then, the use of ‘Aes Rude’ was the closest to coinage. Aes Rude was a crude chunk of cast bronze. This was used to facilitate the exchange of goods. It was seen as the prototype for the first coinage system in Rome.
The Romans used various metals such as gold, bronze, and silver to make their coins. Some of these had intrinsic value depending on the percentage of valuable material used, and others only had token value. In the early stage, coins were produced in low quantities, and their use wasn’t quite popular. Historians also opine that the development of coinage in Rome was partially motivated by competition with the Greeks. Early Roman coins had Greek designs and even inscriptions in Greek. As the Roman Empire grew and established its dominance in early Europe, the impact of their monetary system spread, and to date, Middle Eastern countries such as Arab use the ‘dinar’, from the Roman silver ‘denarius.’
Here are the top 10 facts about currency and coins in Ancient Rome.
1. Trade was originally based on the barter system
A newspaper illustration of two men engaging in barter trade by F.S Church-Wikimedia Commons.
Even before the coinage system came into the scene, people in ancient Rome still engaged in trade. The exchange of goods and services was pegged on the barter system. This is a mode of trade that involves the substitution of goods for the estimated value of other goods. It relied mostly on double coincidence, where a seller would need the item being offered by the buyer and vice versa. ‘Pecunia’, the Latin word for money is a derivative word of ‘pecus’ which means cattle. This shows that evidently, people still engaged in trade even in the absence of coins.
2. The first coinage system was the ‘Aes Rude’
Bronze Aes Rude from the 4th century by Chuy1530-Wikimedia Commons.
Early Rome did not use coins. Instead, they used a system of bronze weights known as the Aes Rude. These were units of irregularly struck bronze chunks, with one unit weighing about 320 grams. They were rather heavy, and their production continued until 218 BCE. Originally they were just ingots, but later they were marked and made into a standard round shape. The Roman economy at the time was based on the bronze standard, while that of the Greeks was based on silver. The aes rude facilitated trade across the peninsula before the minting of coins began. The earliest surviving piece dates from the early 8th century BC, and as late as the late 4th century BC. It was cast in central Italy.
3. Early Roman coinage consisted of 3 monetary systems
These are the ‘Aes Signatum’ which were bronze ingots weighing 1500g, the ‘Romano-Campanian’ made of silver and bronze, and ‘Aes Grave’ which were cast bronze disks. The Romano-Companion coinage was characterized by limited irregularly struck bronze and silver. The coins were mainly produced in towns under Roman control, and their designs would be specific to each town. They were identified as ‘Roman’ on their reverse ROMA legend. Interestingly, the style of striking was copied from Greek cities. The Aes Signatum and Aes Grave were cast in Rome.
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4. The origin of the word ‘mint’ is ascribed to the Roman goddess Juno Moneta
Photo of a denarius from 46BC featuring a bust of Juno Moneta the roman goddess of the mint. Photo by Geni-Wikimedia Commons.
Around 269 BC, a mint-producing silver coin was established near the temple of Juno Moneta. The Roman goddess Moneta was assimilated into the deity Juno, wife of Jupiter. The word money is derived from ‘Moneta’. This Roman goddess became the personification of money, and her name was applied to both money and the place of its production. Juno was considered the protectress of the state and its funds. It is therefore no surprise that her association with money was inevitable with the Romans.
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5. Rome started minting coins around 300 BC
Collection of Roman coins at the Roman Museum by Ad Meskens-Wikimedia Commons.
As Rome expanded over central Italy and made several conquests, spoils from war meant that coins could be produced using precious metals such as gold and silver. The first Roman coins to be minted are estimated to have been small bronze pieces of low value. These were produced at Neapolis from around 326 BCE. At the start of the 3rd century BCE, the first silver coins were produced, resembling Greek coins.
In 211 BCE, a new coinage system came into place with the production of the silver denarius. This became the principal silver coin of Rome until the 3rd century CE. It was equal to 10 bronze asses. The movement of troops during war facilitated the circulation of Roman coinage.
6. The coins were made of various metals
Roman gold coin ‘aureus’ sourced from French National Library-Wikimedia Commons.
These included bronze, silver, and gold. The metal used in a coin largely dictated the value of such a coin. The silver denarii for instance was equivalent to 10 bronze asses, each weighing 54 grams. The evolution of the weight of coins from the heavy ‘aes rude’ to light gold coins is also interesting to note. The metal content also gradually reduced, and the size became smaller and more manageable. The gold ‘aureus’ coins were valued at 25 silver denarii each. Eventually, silver coins below the denarii were replaced with brass dupondius, and the smaller quadrant (quarter). Copper gradually replaced bronze.
7. Spoils from war facilitated increased production of currency
Rome continued to expand its territories by waging war and conquering its neighbors. The loot of treasures, especially precious metals such as silver and gold added to the material that could be used to mint coins. The Punic Wars brought in lots of gold treasure, adding to minted gold coins.
The acquisition of the silver mines of Macedonia in 167 BCE resulted in a flood of silver coins. Equally, bronze coins became devalued as silver coins were more valuable. War also played a significant role in the minting of coins as rulers would use the currency to pay their enemies or strike a deal. Julius Caesar, for instance, is said to have minted the largest quantity of gold coins yet seen in Rome in 46 BCE for war deals.
8. The ‘Nummularri’ tested suspect coinage
As coins were progressively minted, taxation only met two-thirds of the imperial budget. To fill up the shortfall, more coins were put into circulation. However, this came with several threats to the currency. For instance, extravagant rulers in Rome easily misused money and could land the people in a serious financial crisis. The other problem was the production of forged coins. There’s historic evidence that low-content silver coins were intentionally given a finer silver surface to make them appear more valuable.
A body of professionals, the Nummularii was tasked with testing coinage suspected to be counterfeit. However, they were soon overwhelmed with a flood of fake coins, especially after the barbarian invasions of the 3rd century CE. This placed financial pressure on the empire following the collapse of the silver currency. Just like in modern times, events such as war have a great bearing on the economies and monetary systems of nations. Several reforms were enforced by various emperors to improve the precarious situation.
9. The imagery on coins depicted various elements
Severus Alexander copper medallion, Colosseum on the obverse. Photo by CNG- Wikimedia Commons.
Control of the state coinage was originally a preserve for the three junior magistrates, who later became four. They initially favored classic images such as Roma. Jupiter, Mars, and Victory. The images were made by striking the coin onto a pre-cut die placed below and above the blank coin. During the second century BCE, depictions of a four-horse chariot were used on a series of coins. Later on, images of family history, local landmarks, and nationally significant events were employed.
Notably, the use of portraits of emperors was greatly avoided. This is perhaps because such representations were used by Greeks for kings and tyrants, which was contrary to the ideals of Rome at the time. From the imperial period, however, coins had on the obverse side the portrait of the emperor, who was then in charge of the state treasury. Some of these representations were idealistic and others quite realistic. The reverse side showcased various designs and images, including monuments such as the Colosseum or temples in Rome.
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10. Emperors used imagery on coins as a symbol of power
The famous coin issued by Marcus Brutus, depicting his image and two swords symbolizing the murder of Julius Caesar. Photo by Classical Numismatic Group-Wikimedia Commons.
The imagery on coins gained new controversial meanings especially after Julius Caesar used his profile on his coins. Images on coins then became a symbol of authority and power for the emperor in the realms of power, such that successive rulers changed portraits on coins once they got into office.
Shortly after Julius’ death, Brutus , one of the most famous conspirators of his death, minted coins with his image on one side of the coin, and on the other, he included two daggers symbolizing his role in the dethroning and murder of Julius Caesar. The imagery on coins thus quickly shifted towards propaganda and power woes at the time, with emperors concretizing their grip on power and their symbol of authority.
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