Denarius of Tiberius (YORYM 2000 1953) obverse.jpg
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The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the
Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
to the reign of
Gordian III Gordian III ( la, Marcus Antonius Gordianus; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor up to that point (until Valentinian II in 375). Gordian was the son of Anton ...
(AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very small quantities, likely for ceremonial purposes, until and through the Tetrarchy (293–313). The word ''dēnārius'' is derived from the Latin ''dēnī'' "containing ten", as its value was originally of 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 The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
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. However it can also be represented as X̶ (capital letter X with combining long stroke overlay).


History

A predecessor of the ''denarius'' was first struck in 269 or 268 BC, five years before the
First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...
, 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 pay soldiers. The first distinctively Roman silver coin appeared around 226 BC. 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,. This, with a two-horse chariot or '' biga'' which was used as a reverse type for some early denarii, was the prototype for the most common designs used on Roman silver coins for a number of years. Rome overhauled its coinage shortly before 211 BC, and introduced the denarius alongside a short-lived denomination called the
victoriatus The victoriatus was a silver coin issued during the Roman Republic from about 221 BC to 170 BC. The obverse of the coin featured the bust of Jupiter and the reverse featured Victory placing a wreath upon a trophy with the inscription "ROMA" i ...
. The denarius contained an average 4.5 grams, or of a Roman pound, of silver, 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 denarius began to undergo slow debasement toward the end of the republican period. Under the rule of Augustus (27 BC – AD 14) 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 around the late 3rd century. 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 Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...
between AD 270 and 275, and in the first years of the reign of
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
. ('Denarius', in ''A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins'', by John R. Melville-Jones (1990)).


Debasement and evolution


Value, comparisons and silver content

1 gold aureus = 2 gold quinarii = 25 silver denarii = 50 silver quinarii = 100
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
sestertii The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The na ...
= 200 bronze dupondii = 400 copper asses = 800 copper semisses = 1,600 copper quadrantes It is difficult to give even rough comparative values for money from before the 20th century, as the range of products and services available for purchase was so different. During the republic (509 BC–27 BC), a legionary earned 112.5 denarii per year (0.3 denarii per day). Under
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, this was doubled to 225 denarii/yr, with soldiers having to pay for their own food and arms, while in the reign of Augustus a
Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...
received at least 3,750 denarii per year, and for the highest rank, 15,000 denarii. By the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire (), a common soldier or unskilled laborer would be paid 1 denarius/day (with no tax deductions), around 300% inflation compared to the early period. Using the cost of bread as a baseline, this pay equates to around US$20 in 2013 terms. Expressed in terms of the price of silver, and assuming 0.999 purity, a troy ounce denarius had a precious metal value of around US$2.60 in 2021. At the height of the Roman Empire a
sextarius The ancient Roman units of measurement were primarily founded on the Hellenic system, which in turn was influenced by the Egyptian system and the Mesopotamian system. The Roman units were comparatively consistent and well documented. Length T ...
(546ml or about 2 1/4 cups) of ordinary wine cost roughly one Dupondius (⅛ of a Denarius), after Diocletian's Edict on Maximum Prices were issued in AD 301, the same item cost 8 debased common denarii – 6,400% inflation. Silver content plummeted across the lifespan of the denarius. Under the Roman Empire (after Nero) the denarius contained approximately 50 grains, 3.24 grams, or (0.105ozt) troy ounce. The fineness of the silver content varied with political and economic circumstances. From a purity of greater than 90% silver in the 1st century AD, the denarius fell to under 60% purity by AD 200, and plummeted to 5% purity by AD 300. By the reign of Gallienus, the ''antoninianus'' was a copper coin with a thin silver wash.


Influence

In the final years of the 1st century BC Tincomarus, a local ruler in southern Britain, started issuing coins that appear to have been made from melted down ''denarii''. The coins of Eppillus, issued around
Calleva Atrebatum Calleva Atrebatum ("Calleva of the Atrebates") was an Iron Age oppidum, the capital of the Atrebates tribe. It then became a walled town in the Roman province of Britannia, at a major crossroads of the roads of southern Britain. The modern villa ...
around the same time, appear to have derived design elements from various ''denarii'' such as those of Augustus and
M. Volteius ( ; ; pl. ; ; 1512, from Middle French , literally "my lord") is an honorific title that was used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It has now become the customary French title of resp ...
. Even after the ''denarius'' was no longer regularly issued, it continued to be used as a unit of account, and the name was applied to later Roman coins in a way that is not understood. The Arabs who conquered large parts of the land that once belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire issued their own gold dinar. The lasting legacy of the ''denarius'' can be seen in the use of "d" as the abbreviation for the British
penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
until 1971. It also survived in France as the name of a coin, the denier. The denarius also survives in the common Arabic name for a currency unit, the ''
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
'' used from pre-Islamic times, and still used in several modern Arab nations. The major currency unit in former Principality of Serbia,
Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
and former Yugoslavia was ''
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
'', and it is still used in present-day Serbia. The
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
currency '' denar'' is also derived from the Roman denarius. The Italian word ''denaro'', the Spanish word ''dinero'', the Portuguese word ''dinheiro'', and the Slovene word ', all meaning money, are also derived from Latin ''denarius''. The pre-decimal currency of the United Kingdom until 1970 of pounds, shillings and pence was abbreviated as lsd, with "d" referring to denarius and standing for penny.


Use in the Bible

In the New Testament, the gospels refer to the denarius as a day's wage for a common laborer (
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
20:2, John 12:5). In the Book of Revelation, during the Third Seal: Black Horse, a choinix ("quart") of wheat and three quarts of barley were each valued at one denarius. Bible scholar
Robert H. Mounce Robert Hayden Mounce (December 30, 1921 – January 24, 2019) was an American New Testament scholar, and president emeritus of Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. Mounce was born in LaSalle, Illinois, in December 1921 and raised in Minot, ...
says the price of the wheat and barley as described in the vision appears to be ten to twelve times their normal cost in ancient times.The New International Commentary on the New Testament, "The Book of Revelation," p. 155) Revelation thus describes a condition where basic goods are sold at greatly inflated prices. Thus, the black horse rider depicts times of deep scarcity or famine, but not of starvation. Apparently, a choinix of wheat was the daily ration of one adult. Thus, in the conditions pictured by Revelation 6, the normal income for a working-class family would buy enough food for only one person. The less costly barley would feed three people for one day's wages. The denarius is also mentioned in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (
Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...
10:25–37). The
Render unto Caesar "Render unto Caesar" is the beginning of a phrase attributed to Jesus in the synoptic gospels, which reads in full, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" (). This phrase has become a widely qu ...
passage in Matthew 22:15–22 and Mark 12:13–17 uses the word (δηνάριον) to describe the coin held up by Jesus, translated in the King James Bible as "
tribute penny The tribute penny was the coin that was shown to Jesus when he made his famous speech " Render unto Caesar..." The phrase comes from the King James Version of the gospel account: Jesus is asked, "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" (Ma ...
". It is commonly thought to be a denarius with the head of Tiberius.


See also

*
Denarius of L. Censorinus In 82 BC, a denarius was minted by Lucius Marcius Censorinus picturing Apollo and Marsyas the satyr. The coin has attracted several interpretations because of the ambiguity of its symbolism. Coin description On the obverse of this coin is a rep ...
, for the detailed description of a specific Roman denarius * Dupondius *
French denier The denier ( la, denarius; . d.) or penny was a medieval coin which takes its name from the Frankish coin first issued in the late seventh century; in English it is sometimes referred to as a silver penny. Its appearance represents the end ...
* Gold Dinar * Ides of March Coin * Macedonian denar * Sestertius * Solidus (coin) *
Tribute penny The tribute penny was the coin that was shown to Jesus when he made his famous speech " Render unto Caesar..." The phrase comes from the King James Version of the gospel account: Jesus is asked, "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" (Ma ...


Notes


References


External links


Denarius
* ttp://coins.about.com/od/coinsglossary/g/denarius_define.htm Denarius – A Roman soldier's daily pay {{Authority control Coins of ancient Rome Coins in the Bible New Testament Latin words and phrases Numismatics Silver coins