131. The UNCIA (the twelfth of an As) the head of Mars and one boss.

132. The learned are not agreed concerning the weight of the primitive As and their discussions are being continued at the pre

sent time.

The Roman pound (derived from Greece) weighed 327.40 grammes, but the ancient Latin pound weighed 272 grammes.

Which of these two weights was that of the Roman As? The answer to this might seem to be very simple. Many of these Asses exist, so there ought to be nothing for us to do but to weigh them in order to know to which of these two pounds the Roman primitive As corresponded.

The fact is, these Asses differ so much from one another and their weight is so irregular that they afford us no means of determining the question; it will suffice to say that the six hundred and seventyfive Asses weighed by the Baron D'Ailly vary from a maximum of 312.30 grammes to a minimum of 207.10.

133. Notwithstanding that no known example reaches the weight of a Roman pound, and notwithstanding that the average of the weights is less by that of about 25 per cent, the Roman pound of 327 grammes is now generally reckoned as the legal weight of the primitive As.

On the other hand to-day it would appear to be more reasonable to reckon as such the ancient Latin pound of 272 grammes as much nearer the real average weight of the Libral Asses.

134. Another argument too which corroborates this opinion is that the so-called Roman Pound of 327 grammes is a Greek importation and that this importation is not to be considered as ancient as the primitive Asses.

135. THE FIRST REDUCTION OF THE AS. The primitive Libral As which, we are taught by the fact just noticed, agrees readily with the weight of the Latin Pound was after some time reduced, and the reduction took place not by degrees but at a given time.

But even on this point agreement among students is not yet well.

established, for there are some who would take as the extent of the reduction the triental As (of the weight, that is, of a Triens) while others would prefer to take that of the semi-libral As (of the weight of a semis).

Both however in regard to this point, if we estimate the Roman pound at 327 grammes, according to the former, the reduced As would weigh 109 grammes (of 327 gr.) according to the latter, and theirs is the prevailing opinion the reduced As would weigh 163.50 grammes (of 327 gr.).

The weights of extant examples which are rather more scarce than those of the first emission give us very little help since the disparity of weight is so great among them.

136. SUCCESSIVE REDUCTIONS. Whatever that weight may have been at the first reduction the Asses gradually continued in their descending course until at the time when silver was introduced in the year 268 B.C. we find that they were equivalent to a sextans (54.50 grammes) from which they were called sextantal Asses, though all the while they retained their legal value unchanged.

The diminution in the weight of the As did not stop at that point but continued progressively until the Flaminian Law instituted the Uncial As in the year 217 B.C. and the Papirian Law brought in the Semi-uncial As in the year 89 B.C

To sum up briefly we may say that the primitive Roman As, based on the Latin Pound of 272 grammes, was suddenly greatly reduced and became semilibral, being made equivalent to half the Greek pound (163.50 grammes).

It was gradually still further diminished until in the year 268 B.C. it weighed 54.50 grammes (now called the sextantal Ås); then partly by law, partly by dishonesty, the weight was further diminished during the whole Republican period until it was reduced to half an ounce.

138. It is much too difficult a task to determine what may have been the reasons for these very great reductions in weight, what proportion was owing to the action of law, what on the other hand to unintentional decrease, what to successive abuses, and certainly one cannot attack such difficult questions in an elementary treatise for they would require long and thorough discussion before one could arrive at a reasonably adequate hypothesis.

139. Without here entering into particulars and merely treating the question in general terms, I would exclude the opinion of those who would consider the first reduction as a kind of State bankruptcy, as it seems much more natural that it should have happened from a simple change in the general monetary system brought about by the new Greek libral system then just introduced. Hence also the second reduction to the sextantal basis was cer

tainly a change of value, ordered in order to harmonize the value of the bronze with that of the silver coinage which at that time made its first appearance in Rome.

The slow and gradual diminutions which continually took place on account of the official reductions are to be attributed to that universal economic law of the decrease of monetary values met

with in all ages, nations, and lands. The medieval monetary systems afford good illustrations of this law.

140. THE MULTIPLES OF THE AS. About that time when the As was reduced to the weight of about 100 grammes some pieces were issued as multiples of the As, a fact which excludes the idea that the reduction was introduced through distress; and so we have:

141. The DUPONDIUS, with the head of Minerva (or Roma) and the sign II (two Asses).

142. The TRIPONDIUS, with the same head and the sign III (three asses).

143. The DECUSSIS, always with the same head and the sign X (ten Asses).