MEDAL. 
grains, though the money-ounce appears to 
have been four hundred and twenty troy 
grains, or five thousand and forty to the 
pound ; this was the standard of copper. 
After silver was introduced, the ounce con- 
sisted of seven denarii, and gold was esti- 
mated by the scruple, the third part of a 
denarius, and the preceding weights. The 
sestertius, or half the third, a division of the 
number ten equally improper, and subse- 
quently unusual, was chosen by the Romans 
as the principle estimate of their money. 
Serviiis Tulius introduced the practice of 
impressing figures on their copper or aes, 
which were those of pecus, or small cattle, 
from which circumstance the word pecunia 
was derived. This manner of distinguishing 
the coin was afterwards changed, and Janus 
on one side, and the provV of a galley on the 
other, became the marks of the aes; this, 
with the triens, the quadrans, and sextans, 
impressed with the form of a vessel, were 
for a vei-y long period the only medium ; 
but five years before the first Punic war, 
circumstances had enabled the Romans to 
use silver, which they coined into denarii, 
hearing the head of the genius of Rome, 
with a helmet on one side, and on the other 
chariots drawn by two or four horses. The 
coin called victoriati received the figures of 
Victory and of Rome; and the sestertii 
generally had the protectress of the city, 
with Castor and Pollux. 
The Emperors usually ordered their own 
busts to be placed on their coins, except 
Augustus, who had Capricorn. Sixty-two 
years elapsed between the introduction of 
silver and that of gold, which occurred in 
the cori-sulship of M. Livius Salinator. The 
as, derived from tes, brass, originally con- 
sisted of one pound weiglit, but the diffi- 
culties experienced during the first Pnnic 
war, compelled the public to reduce tlie 
value of the as, and to convert one into six 
ases. Tlie success of Hannibal in the se- 
cond contest, under the above term, pro- 
duced still greater distress in the state, and 
another reduction in their value took place, 
when the as became but one ounce in 
weiglit ; this was again reduced, by a law of 
Papyrius, to half an ounce, in which state 
it afterwards remained. The as, supposed 
by Rennet to be equal in value to a far- 
thing and a Iialf sterling, was the tenth 
part of the denarius, and tire semi-ms, or 
.semissis, was the half; tlie triens, as the 
word implies, was tlie third part of tlie as, 
and the quadrens the fourth, which was 
sometimes called triuncis and tenmeius, as 
it weighed three ounces previous to ths 
diminution of its value. The sextans, or 
sixth part, were not sufficiently numerous, 
and other divisions were made to answer 
tlie public convenience, such as tlie uncia, 
or twelfth part of the pound, the semi-nn- 
cia, and the sextiila, or sixth part of an 
ounce ; besides these tliere was the decus- 
sus, valued at ten ases, or one denarius; 
the vicessus, the value of two denarii; and 
the ceiitnssis was the largest coin of this 
metal, which was worth ten denarii, or one 
liundi ed ases, and may be said to be equi- 
valent to six shillings and three pence ster- 
ling. 
The, ancient denarius seems to have der 
rived its name from the fact of its contain, 
ing denos-ffii'is or ases, or ten ases, though 
the weight varied ; during the time of tlie 
Commonwealtli it was the seventh part of 
an ounce. In that of Claudius the weight 
was precisely an attic-drachm ; the former 
equalled eight-pence of our money, and the 
latter seven-pence, without entering into 
fractions in either case. Bigatiis and quad- 
rigatus were terms applied to the denarius, 
alluding to the big* or chariot with two 
horses impressed upon it, and tlie quadrigae 
or chariot with four horses. Clodius intro- 
duced the victoriatus mentioned before, 
which was equal in value to tlie half of a 
denarius ; it also bore the name of quina- 
riiis, from its containing the value of five 
ases. The celebrated sestertius, so called 
from sesquitertius, as consisting of two ases 
and a half, was lialf tlie victoriatus, and a 
fourth part of the denarius ; exclusive of 
the above name it was frequently called 
nummus and sestertius numinus, tlie value 
pf which, in modern money, was extremely 
small, being little more than one penny. 
The obuliis, or the sixth part of the dena- 
rius, was nearly of the same amount. The 
libella, tlie tenth of the denarius, equalled 
the as, or the supposed pound of copper or 
brass. The semi-libella explains itself, and 
tlie terunoius, or fortieth part of the dena- 
rius, was worth tliree ounces of the metal 
just mentioned. 
Tlie most remarkable Roman coins of 
gold were the aurci denarii, which were 
thus termed probably from their resem- 
blance in size, or the similarity of the fi- 
gures they bore on tlieir surfaces to the de- 
narii. Tliose coined under the Common- 
wealth weiglied two silver denarii, and 
were worth seventeen sliillings, one penny, 
and something more than a fartliing ster- 
ling; the aareas, made after the change in 
