Currencies

[Sextus Saturninus]

But is the Denarii you are talking about the original silver Denarius or are you talking about the later debased version.

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

That's what the Emperor did! He would order the high content silver denarii out of circulation and re-mint them with the new debased content. That is why pre-reform denarii of Nero are rarer than the post-reform denarii. Lower weight and lower silver content meant that you could circulate more coins with the same amount of silver. Of course it was difficult to recall coins from previous Emperor's because they had been dispersed far and wide, but when it was received for tax payment they were to be melted down and struck at the new standard.

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

So it was more profitable to melt the Denarii than actually using them as a currency.

That's what the Emperor did! He would order the high content silver denarii out of circulation and re-mint them with the new debased content. That is why pre-reform denarii of Nero are rarer than the post-reform denarii. Lower weight and lower silver content meant that you could circulate more coins with the same amount of silver. Of course it was difficult to recall coins from previous Emperor's because they had been dispersed far and wide, but when it was received for tax payment they were to be melted down and struck at the new standard.

Here is a good flow chart showing the changes of the denarius over time;

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswi...Type%20Set

[PhilusEstilius]

What I find so interesting about the republican Denarius they stayed in circulation for so long in fact I have a Denarius of Marcus Atillius Saranus of 148 BC and it was still in use in the Hadrians' Wall area where I found it.

[Razzoriel]

So it was more profitable to melt the Denarii than actually using them as a currency.

That's what the Emperor did! He would order the high content silver denarii out of circulation and re-mint them with the new debased content. That is why pre-reform denarii of Nero are rarer than the post-reform denarii. Lower weight and lower silver content meant that you could circulate more coins with the same amount of silver. Of course it was difficult to recall coins from previous Emperor's because they had been dispersed far and wide, but when it was received for tax payment they were to be melted down and struck at the new standard.

Here is a good flow chart showing the changes of the denarius over time;

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswi...Type%20Set

This only shows up until 4th century. Any sources for the 5th?

[Nathan Ross]

Would they say, for instance, they sell a chicken for X Denarii, or Follii?

Diocletian's maximum price edict of c.AD300 still uses denarii, although by that time I believe the coin itself was perhaps not widely in use. Two for a pound of minced pork, for example. Twenty-five per day for a farm labourer. Perhaps these sums would be converted into the available coin of the day.

For how long was the denarius still considered a unit of value, even an artificial one, I wonder? Presumably for a while, as the word evolved into several later languages...

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

I think the last silver denarius was under Gordian III, I don't really collect that late so I will check, after that they were mostly bronze. I don't believe the silver coins would have circulated if most currency was in bronze. Why would you? The silver would just increase in value so they would be hoarded, put aside. That explains why so many of the silver coins from this period are in excellent states of preservations.

[Sextus Saturninus]

Under Philip bronze Denarii were minted so they were around by his time. Since Philip was the successor of Gordian III, that must mean that the last silver denarii were from him since Gordian did mint silver denarii (though of lower purity than ever before).

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

The vast majority of Philips coins were of the antoninianus but he did strike a few silver denarii. Aurelian tried to revive the denarius but at the same silver content as the antoninianus. Here is an interesting link
http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601ccdoc.htm

It's a fast changing time!

[Razzoriel]

I was under the assumption the Miliarense and the Siliqua, together with the Follis and Nummus for bronze coins, were more prevalent in the period of the Solidus.

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

The "period of the solidus" is very long. It goes from the Constantine era into the Byzantine so hundreds of years. The siliqua was another attempt to revive silver coinage. Like the Argentus it didn't last long. The follis and Nummus are usually used to reference coins from the Byzantine era.

I would suggest David Sears "Roman Coins and their Values" for anyone interested in collecting the coinage of the Roman Empire. So far he has 4 volumes.
Volume 1 is the Republic to the 12 Caesars 280 BC-96 AD.
Volume 2 Nerva-Severans 96-235 AD.
Volume 3 Maximinus to Carinus 235-285 AD.
Volume 4 The Tetracrchies to Constantine 284-337 AD

Anyone interested in seeing my collection of coins, all obtained by reputable dealers who stand by a code of ethics in not dealing with illegal finds can see them here:

http://www.forumancientcoins.com/gallery...?cat=18312

[Razzoriel]

These are good suggestions for 4th century currency. I'm looking one century later, unless someone reference confirmation that currency didn't change in the period.

[ANTONIVS MAGNVS]

Then you are looking for Byzantine coinage.

David Sear: Byzantine Coins and their Values 2nd Edition Revised and Enlarged:

http://goo.gl/E9jAtK

[Razzoriel]

Wikipedia mentions the Solidus, Miliarense, Siliqua, Follis and Nummus as the Late Empire coins still in use, from 337 to 476 AD. Is that correct?

[Sextus Saturninus]

By the fifth century, the only circulating coins in the Western Empire were the nummus ( small little coins, size AE4 ), the tremissis, and the solidus. The only bronze coin was the tiny nummus, so if you wanted change, you would receive it in the form of many hundreds or even thousands of nimmi. All the other coins were out of use. Wikipedia has that wrong. That's why you can never use it as a source :-)