Description

• Roman coinage was first introduced in the late 4th century BC. The first Roman coins were made of bronze, copper silver as well as gold. The most common Roman coins were the silver denarius and the bronze As or Sestertius. The denarius was initially worth 10 As (hence its name a denarius meaning 10) but this was later changed to 16 Asses, while the sestertius was initially worth 2.5 Asses and later worth 4 Asses.
• The first silver coins were minted in Lydia in Asia Minor around 600 BCE though its use for coinage at scale can really be attributed to the Greeks, with silver Obols and Drachms. Roman silver coinage included the Denarius in the 3rd century BC which came to be the backbone of Roman Republican and early Empire monetary system. This was replaced in the 3rd century AD by the double denarius which is generally referred to as an Antoninianus, denoted by the emperor's image with a radiate crown. A later Roman silver coin of the 4th century AD was the Siliqua. Silver has been used for coinage throughout history because it is durable, malleable, and has a relatively low melting point. It is also abundant enough to create coins but rare enough so that not everyone can produce them. Silver is also valuable enough so that it can easily be exchanged for goods and services.