Editing Roman Republican currency (section)

===Evolution: gold===
The gold 60, 40, and 20 ''as'' coins were only minted for a few years; gold in general appears to have been used at first only as an emergency coinage. Gold coins reappeared in 82 BC when [[Sulla]] was gathering funds for the war against [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]] immediately after the financial strains of the [[Social War (91–88 BC)|Social War]]. Sulla's coinage is commonly considered the first for which the name (denarius) [[aureus]] was used. Aureii were minted in large numbers by [[Julius Caesar]] in preparation for a proposed war against [[Parthia]] and issuing of the aureus continued to increase after the fall of the republic.