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Tag Archives: Roman coinage

Notes on Roman Money.

06-May-10

http://iccpaix.org/admin/controller/extension/extension/ALFA_DATA The top unit of value in the coinage of the late Republic in Rome was the aureus, which prior to Nero was approximately 1/42 of a pound of gold.  In 2010 dollars, where a pound of gold is worth about $14,000, the aureus takes on a value of approximately $330. The denarius, a silver coin, […]

HS.

05-May-10

Sitten Last night I was reading up on the Roman monetary system, and was reminded that a sestertius was 1/4 of a denarius. A denarius was abbreviated with an X; and a sestertius, unaccountably, with an HS. What the hell was that H? And I figured it out: it’s not an H, it’s IIS, i.e. II […]