The ''miliarense'' (neuter form of the late

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''miliarensis'', "pertaining to a thousand"; plural: ''miliarensia'') was a large silver coin, introduced to the late Roman monetary system in the early 4th century. It was struck with variable fineness, generally with a weight between 3.8 and 6.0 grams, and a diameter of c. 23–24 mm. The ''miliarense'' was struck first under

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

(r. 306–337). There were two kinds of ''miliarense'' coins: light and heavy. It took 14 heavy ''miliarensia'' and 18 light ''miliarensia'' to equal one gold ''

solidus Solidus (Latin for "solid") may refer to: * Solidus (coin), a Roman coin of nearly solid gold * Solidus (punctuation), or slash, a punctuation mark * Solidus (chemistry), the line on a phase diagram below which a substance is completely solid * ...

'' (as also introduced by Constantine). ''Miliarensia'' are highly desired by numismatists of the present day, due to both the rarity of the denomination (far less common than the '' siliqua'') and the often exquisite execution of both bust and reverse types, which led to many being used as pendants or mounted in antiquity. A variant of the original denomination was revived in the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

silver coinage from the 8th Grierson, Philip (1982), ''Byzantine coins'', Taylor & Francis, to the 11th centuries (see ''

miliaresion The ''miliaresion'' ( el, μιλιαρήσιον, from la, miliarensis), is a name used for two types of Byzantine silver coins. In its most usual sense, it refers to the themed flat silver coin struck between the 8th and 11th Century. History O ...

'').

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