814 M E D A L. 
tiquity; fitch a mode being fcarcely known any-where 
elfe, except in Caulonia, Crotona, and other towns of 
Italy ; all of them allowed to be (truck at lead 400 B. C. 
As thefe large coins are not double denarii, they mult have 
been (truck prior to the (mail ones; and Neumann has 
given an account of one of them recoined by Trajan, in 
which the indentation of ROMA is carefully preferved. 
The fil'd denarius was in value 10 afes, when the as 
weighed three ounces; and, allowing 90 grains at a me¬ 
dium for one of thefe large denarii, the proportion of 
copper to filver mult have been as 1 to 160 ; but, when 
the as fell to one ounce, the proportion was as 1 to 80 ; 
when it fell to half an ounce, fo that 16 afes went to the 
denarius, the proportion was as 1 to 64, at which it re¬ 
mained. Copper with us, in coinage, is to filver as 1 to 40; 
but in aftual value as 1 to 72. 
At Rome the denarius was worth 8d. the quinarius4d. 
and the feftertius, whether filver or brafs, 2d-. The dena¬ 
rius is the coin from which our penny is derived, and was 
the chief filver coin in Rome for 600 years. According 
to Celfus, feven denarii went to the Roman ounce, which 
in metals did not exceed 430 grains ; but, as all the de¬ 
narii hitherto met with weigh at a medium only 60 grains, 
this would feem to make the Roman ounce only 420 grains ; 
though perhaps this deficiency may be accounted for from 
the unavoidable wafte of metal even in the beft-preferved 
of thefe coins. According to this proportion the Roman 
pound contained 84 denarii; but in tale there was a very 
confiderable excefs; for no fewer than 100 denarii went 
to the Roman pound. The Greek ounce appears to have 
been coniiderably larger than that of Rome, containing 
about 528 grains; yet, notwithltanding this apparently 
great odds, the difference in the coins was fo fmail, that 
the Greek money went current in Rome, and the Roman 
in Greece. The denarius at firft went for 10 afes, and was 
marked X: it was afterwards railed to 16; which Mr. 
Pinkerton fuppofes to have been about 175 B. C. Some 
are met with bearing the number XVI. nay, with every 
number up to CCCCLXXVI. Thefe large numbers are 
luppofed to have been mint-marks of Pome kind or other. 
After being railed to 16 ales, it continued at the fame va¬ 
lue till the time of Gallienus; fo that till that time we 
are to look upon its conftituent parts to be 16 afes or af- 
faria, eight dupondii, four brafs feftertii, and twm filver 
quinarii. Under the emperor Severus, how'ever, or his 
iuccelfor Caracalla, denarii were (Truck of two fizes, one 
of them a third heavier than the common ; which we mult 
of confequence fuppofe to have borne a third more value. 
This large piece obtained the name of argentais, and ar- 
gcnteus Philippus, or the “ filver Philip the name of Phi¬ 
lip having become common to almolt every coin. The 
common denarii now began to be termed minuti and ar- 
genti Philippi minutuli, &c. to exprefs their being lmaller 
than the reft. Some have imagined that the large denarii 
were of the fame value with the fmail, only of worfe me¬ 
tal ; but Mr. Pinkerton obferves, that, among the few 
which have any difference of metal, the fmallelt are always 
the worlf. The firlt mention of the minvti is in the time 
of Alexander Severus, who reduced the price of pork 
from eight minutiiat Rome to two and to one. The mi- 
.nutus argcntcus of that age was about 40 grains ; and from 
the badntls ot the metal was not worth above 4d. of our 
money. Thus the price of meat was by this prince re¬ 
duced firft to 8d. and then to 4d. 
According to Zozimus and other writers, the purity of 
the Roman coin was reltored by Aurelius ; but Mr. Pin¬ 
kerton controverts this opinion ; thinking it more pro¬ 
bable, that he only made the attempt without l’uccefs; or 
that his reformation might be entirely confined to gold, 
in which there is an evident change after the time ot this 
emperor. His fuccelfor Tacitus -is /aid. to have allowed 
no brafs to be mixed with filver upon any account; yet 
the few coins of this emperor are very much alloyed. 
We are certain, however, that the emperor Dioclefian re- 
Itored the filver to its ancient purity ; the denarii (truck 
in his reign being very (mail indeed, but of as fine filver 
as the moll ancient coins of the empire. After Gor¬ 
dian III. the fmail denarius entirely vaniflied ; while the 
large one was fo much diminifiied, that it refenibled the 
minutus, or fmail one of Caracalla, in lize. Gallienus in¬ 
troduced the denarii cerei inltead of the fejlertii. The ar- 
genteus, though reduced more than one third in fize, con¬ 
tained fix denarii asrei, the old ftandard of feftertii. Ac¬ 
cording to the writers of this period, and fome time af¬ 
terwards, the denarius or argenteus contained 60 afiaria ; 
whence it follows, that each denarius aereus contained 10 ; 
and from this it probably had its name. The afiaria are 
of the fize of the argentei already mentioned ; and (how 
the copper to have retained nearly its old proportion of 
value to the filver, viz. 1 to 60. 
A larger filver coin was introduced by Conftantine, who 
accommodated the new money to the pound of gold in 
fuel) a manner, that 1000 of the former in tale were equal 
to the latter in value; fo that this new piece from thence 
obtained the name of the milliarenfis, or “ thoufander.'* 
Its weight at a medium is 70 grains, or 70 to the pound 
of filver; but Mr. Pirikerton is of opinion, that it might 
have contained 72 grains, of which two have perifhed by 
the foftnefs of the filver; that the pound contained 72 ; 
or that two of the number might be allowed for coinage ; 
while the alloy alone would.pay for coining gold. The 
Code fays, that 60 went to the pound ; but the numbers 
of this are quite corrupt. The milliarenjis was worth about 
a (hilling llerling. The argentei or denarii, however, were 
ftill the moll common currency ; and, having been origi¬ 
nally rated at 100 to the pound of filver in tale, they from 
thence began to be called centenionales, or “ hundreders.” 
Thofe of Conftantine I. and II. Conltans,and Conftantius, 
weigh from 50 grains down to 40 ; thofe of Julian and 
Jovian, from 40 to 30 ; and of the fucceeding emperors 
from that time to Juftinian, from 30 to 20. Under Hera- 
clius they ceafed entirely; and, from Juftinian to their 
total abolition, had been brought down from 15 to 10 
grains. A like decreafeof weight took place in the mil- 
liarenfis; thole of Conftantine and Conftans being above 
70 grains in weight; thofe of Arcadius not above 60 ; 
and the milliarenfis of Juftinian not more than 30 grains ; 
but, from the weight of thofe in Dr. Hunter’s cabinet, 
Mr. Pinkerton deduces the medium to have been exactly 
7 c T7 g ra ' ns - Thefe coins were alfo called majorina. 
The fmaller filver coins of Rome were, 1. The quinarius , 
at firft called viEloriatus, from the image of Victory on its 
reverfe; and which it continued to bear from firft to lalt. 
Its original value was five afes, but it was afterwards railed 
to eight, when the value of the denarius increafed to fix- 
teen. According to Pliny, it was firft coined in confe¬ 
quence of the Lex Clodia, about the. 525th year of Rome. 
Some are of opinion, that it was called under the 
Conftantinopolitan empire, becaufe it was worth a xe^xtiov 
of gold, 144 of which went to the ounce ; but this is de¬ 
nied by Mr. Pinkerton, becaufe, at the time that the 
word HEgxTiov firft appears in hiftory, the denarius did not 
weigh aDove 30 grains ; and of confequence, as 25 nuift 
have gone to the gold lblidus, of which there were fix in 
the ounce, 130 denarii mull have gone to the ounce of 
gold. He is therefore of opinion, that the word xeganov 
was only another name for the denarius when much re¬ 
duced in fize ; probably owfing to the great fearcity of 
filver in Conftantinople, though in the Same city there 
was plenty of gold ; and of confequence, the gold folidus 
was never diminifiied, “ For Montefquieu (lays our au¬ 
thor) has well obferved, that gold mult be common where 
filver is rare: hence gold was the common regulation of 
accounts in the Ealtern empire.” The d'uiEga.-nov met 
with in ancient authors, according to Mr. Pinkerton, was 
merely an improper name for the milliarenjis, when, on 
account of the fearcity of filver, the denarius was reduced, 
and no milliarenfes coined ; (o that the current milliarenfis 
of former reigns happened to be double to the denarius 
or centenonialis. The quinarius diminilhes in fize along 
with the other coin - ; thofe of Augultus weighing 30 
grains, of Severus 25, of Conftantine 20, of Juftinian 12, 
4 aiwi 
