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horseback, and the legend ROMA. They weighed four scruples (gr. 4.55), and were equivalent to one seventy-second of a pound.

154. THE QUINARIUS (nummus quinarius) bore on the Obverse the head of Minerva (or Roma) and the sign of value V (5 Asses); on the Reverse the Dioscuri on horseback, and the legend ROMÁ. They weighed two scruples (gr. 2.275), and were equivalent to one hundred and forty-fourth of a pound.

Fig. 21. QUINARIUS.

155. THE SESTERTIUS (nummus sextertius) with the same emblems as the Quinarius bore the sign of value IIS (two Asses and a half), and weighed one scruple (gr. 1.137) the equivalent of one twohundred and eighty-eighth of a pound.

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In the year 610 of Rome the value of the Denarius was changed to that of sixteen Asses, or eight Quinarii or four Sestertii. In fact from that time the sign of value XVI on the denarius was substituted for the old sign X, and was generally abbreviated by the mono gram X.

The relative values of silver and bronze were thus fixed at I to 250.

157. Hence the Sestertius, having taken the place of the ancient As, became the recognized money of account.

Taxes and fines were "ab antiquo" quoted in them, and con

tracts were generally arranged in sestertii, not only throughout the time of the Republic but also during the earlier ages of the Empire, that is for a very long period after the coinage of sestertii had ceased.

The Denarius was constantly and regularly issued throughout the duration of the Republic; the Quinarius and Sestertius on the other hand were only issued at intervals.

158. SERRATED DENARII. Among the Roman denarii some are found having the edge notched so as to resemble the teeth of a saw and were therefore called "serrati".

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The origin of this custom is still an unsolved problem. Some consider this notching of the edge to be an imitation of the Carthaginian coinage which was then well known and highly valued in different provinces of the State, others think the system was introduced in order to render forgery more difficult, but such a precaution would have been of little avail, for the wonderful cleverness of the forgers soon enabled them to make false serrated denarii with a core of bronze, presenting exactly the appearance of those of pure silver.

In whatever light the problem is regarded, the serrated coins began to be issued very early in the period of the silver coinage with certain denarii bearing the symbol of a wheel; but after that issue we do not meet with them until a century and a half had passed; after this they continued to be struck at intervals until the end of the Republic together with the other coins with the ordinary round rim.

159. PLATED DENARII. (Denarii subaerati aut pelliculati.) These are denarii, which, under a very thin covering of silver, hide a core of bronze or more rarely of iron; they are very common in the Roman series, especially in that of the Republic. Needless to say they were the result of fraud, the principal author of which was the State itself. A certain number of these coins have been attributed to private forgers who were probably the inventors of this miserable system, and we may consider as private forgeries all those

which bear incorrect legends or whose obverse types do not correspond with the Reverse.

The greatest number, indeed an enormous majority, of these plated coins were undoubtedly issued by the State which soon learned how to appropriate the system and the results to its own advantage.

Again and again, when pressed by financial necessity, the State authorized the issue of plated denarii, and we know moreover for certain that the first official emission of plated coins, mingled with those of pure silver, took place to supply the poverty of the treasury during the disastrous war with Hannibal. Still later, in the year 91 B.C. by a decree of the Senate brought in by V.C.M. Livius Drusus authority was given to coin plated denarii in the proportion of one to every seven of pure silver.

Then afterwards near the end of the Republic and in the first years of the Empire this fraudulent system was necessarily abandoned on account of the very bad effects produced, viz., the general want of confidence and the confusion in the public administration.

The State considered it had the right to prepare for itself a certain special issue of coinage destined exclusively for the use of the Barbarous peoples of the East, which continued to pour forth, thus bestowing as a kind of gratuity the first-fruits of civilization!

The fact that some deposits have been discovered in the far East composed entirely of plated denarii is cited as proof of this theory.

The fact is the plated denarii are perfect in regard to striking and cannot be distinguished from those of pure silver except when, the thin layer of silver being broken at some point, we discover the piece of brass or iron which formed the core.

So true is this that certain little countersigns which were stamped at different times as guarantees of the coins being pure silver are also found frequently on plated coins and we are forced to admit that if these now shew themselves to be plated it is because they have been wasted in course of time for they must have presented an appearance of genuineness when they were countersigned in accordance with the edict of the prætor M. Marius Gratidianus (84 B.C.).

As a general rule one may therefore hold that all the silver money of the Republic (denarii, quinarii, sestertii, victoriati and half victoriati), are either of pure silver or are plated, but any debasement of the metal whether private or public (with the exception of the legionary denarii of M. Antony which are debased) never occurred during the Republic, though we see both the use and abuse of such a system during the Empire. All coins therefore of the Republic which prove to be made of silver debased in

any degree whatever should without any doubt be at once held to be modern falsifications.

160. THE VICTORIATUS (nummus victoriatus).

The Victoriati form a distinct class of coinage collateral with the denarii, having been issued principally from the Roman mint for foreign commerce.

They bore on the Obverse the head of Jupiter and on the Reverse a figure of Victory crowning a trophy, from which type the name is derived.

The Victoriatus sometimes bears on the Reverse, between the Victory and the trophy, a symbol such as an altar, a key, a star, a cornucopia, &c.

The first issue of the Victoriati took place about the year 526 of Rome (228 B.C.), and we may with probability attribute the origin of this coinage to the development of trade which took place about that time, especially in the northern provinces.

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The drachm of Illyricum used in Istria, Liguria, and in Gaul, weighed 3 scruples (gr. 3.41) about two-thirds of the Roman Denarius, and the Victoriatus was originally issued at precisely that weight, a proceeding which might be called the Romanizing of the Illyrian drachm to which moreover the Campanian drachm also corresponded.

The convenient agreement with the denarius (34) facilitated the use of the Victoriati also in the central provinces, whilst the identity with other foreign drachms and its less intrinsic value in comparison with the other coinage facilitated its diffusion in all the provinces having business relations with Rome.

When the reduction of the denarius from the weight of gr. 3.90 took place in the year 537 of Rome (217 B.C.), the Victoriatus was also reduced to gr. 2.92 (2 scruples) in order to maintain between the two coins the proportion of 3 to 4.

One hundred and thirteen years later (104 B.C.) the Victoriatus lost its own characteristic value and weight and was coined with the weight of half a denarius, being made a substitute for the quinarius which was no longer issued, and so from this time the Victoriatus bore as the mark of value the letter Q (quinarius).

161. DOUBLE VICTORIATUS. Double victoriati seem to have been issued with the same type, but in very small quantities, since only one specimen remains to our day, preserved in the Museum at Paris.

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162. HALF VICTORIATUS. Was such a coin as the half Victoriatus issued? Numismatists have hitherto recognized and described halfvictoriati similar to the Victoriatus with the head of Jove on the Obverse and a figure of Victory crowning a trophy on the Reverse, or with a head of Apollo on the Obverse.

But these coins are considered by some to be quinarii (see what is said on this subject above. (160), other numismatists hold the opinion that the only coins which should be considered halfvictoriati are those bearing the monogram B.

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The question is indeed still sub judice. Let us hope that the question may soon be solved by the studies of specialists.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE WEIGHTS AND VALUES OF THE SILVER COINAGE DURING DIFFERENT PERIODS OF THE REPUBLIC

The Denarius with the types of Minerva (or Roma) and Dioscuri.

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