Editing Denarius (section)

==History==
[[File:Fineness_of_early_Roman_Imperial_silver_coins.png|thumb|300px|Starting with [[Nero]] in 64 AD, the Romans continuously debased their silver coins until, by the end of the 3rd century AD, hardly any silver was left.]]
A predecessor of the ''denarius'' was first struck in 269 or 268 BC, five years before the [[First Punic War]],<ref>A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, William Smith, D.C.l., LL, D., John Murray, London 1875, pp. 393, 394.</ref> with an average weight of 6.81&nbsp;[[gram]]s, or {{frac|1|48}} of a [[Roman pound]]. Contact with the Greeks had prompted a need for silver coinage in addition to the bronze currency that the Romans were using at that time. This predecessor of the ''denarius'' was a Greek-styled silver coin of ''didrachm'' weight, which was struck in [[Naples|Neapolis]] and other Greek cities in southern Italy.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage|last=Metcalf|first=William E.|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-19-937218-8|location=New York|pages=300}}</ref> These coins were inscribed with a legend that indicated that they were struck for Rome, but in style they closely resembled their Greek counterparts. They were rarely seen at Rome, to judge from finds and hoards, and were probably used either to buy supplies or to pay soldiers.

The first distinctively Roman silver coin appeared around 226 BC.<ref>The Numismatic Circular, Volume 8–9, Spink & Son, 1899–1900 Piccadilly West, London.</ref> Classical historians have sometimes called these coins "heavy ''denarii''", but they are classified by modern numismatists as [[quadrigatus|''quadrigati'']], a term which survives in one or two ancient texts and is derived from the ''[[quadriga]]'', or four-horse chariot, on the reverse. This, with a two-horse chariot or ''[[Biga (chariot)|biga]]'' which was used as a reverse type for some early ''denarii'', was the prototype for the most common designs used on Roman silver coins for a number of years.<ref>Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins. Oxford University Press, New York 1994.</ref><ref>As the Romans Did, Jo-Ann Shelton. Oxford University Press, New York 1998</ref><ref>Plutarch's Lives, Vol 2, John Langhorne, DD, William Langhorne, AM, London 1813.</ref>

Rome overhauled its coinage shortly before 211 BC, and introduced the ''denarius'' alongside a short-lived denomination called the ''[[victoriatus]]''. The ''denarius'' contained an average 4.5&nbsp;grams, or {{frac|1|72}} of a Roman pound, of silver, and was at first tariffed at ten ''asses'', hence its name, which means 'tenner'. It formed the backbone of Roman currency throughout the [[Roman Republic]] and the early Empire.<ref>The New Deal in Old Rome, HJ Haskell, Alfred K Knoff New York, 1939.</ref>

The ''denarius'' began to undergo slow [[debasement]] toward the end of the republican period. Under the rule of [[Augustus]] (27 BC – 14 AD) its weight fell to 3.9&nbsp;grams (a theoretical weight of {{frac|1|84}} of a Roman pound). It remained at nearly this weight until the time of [[Nero]] (AD 37–68), when it was reduced to {{frac|1|96}} of a pound, or 3.4&nbsp;grams. Debasement of the coin's silver content continued after Nero. Later Roman emperors also reduced its weight to 3&nbsp;grams around the late 3rd century.<ref>Ancient coin collection 3Wayne G Sayles. pp. 21–22.</ref>

The value at its introduction was 10 ''[[As (Roman coin)|asses]]'', giving the ''denarius'' its name, which translates as "containing ten". In about 141 BC, it was re-tariffed at 16 ''asses'', to reflect the decrease in weight of the ''[[As (Roman coin)|as]]''. The ''denarius'' continued to be the main coin of the [[Roman Empire]] until it was replaced by the [[antoninianus]] in the early 3rd century AD. The coin was last issued, in bronze, under [[Aurelian]] between 270 and 275 AD, and in the first years of the reign of [[Diocletian]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Melville-Jones |first=John R |chapter=Denarius |title=A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins |year=1990 |publisher=Seaby |isbn=1-85264-026-X }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/aurelian/t.html |title=Aurelian, Roman Imperial Coinage reference, Thumbnail Index |publisher=Wildwinds.com |access-date=24 August 2006 |archive-date=20 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520123526/http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/aurelian/t.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear/s3272.html |title=Aurelian Æ Denarius. Rome mint. IMP AVRELIANVS AVG, laureate, draped & cuirassed bust right |publisher=Wildwinds.com |access-date=24 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060612105049/http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sear/s3272.html |archive-date=12 June 2006 }}</ref>

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