Roman Republican currency
The coins of the republic (especially the denarii) are of particular interest because they were produced by "mint magistrates", junior officials who chose the designs and legends.
It is unclear when money became commonly used, but Roman tradition recorded that pay of the army began during the siege of Veii in 406 BC and it appears that Aes rude was the currency well before this.
The actual function of aes signatum has been variously interpreted; although a form of currency they were not coins since they did not adhere to a weight standard.
The three members of this committee were officially known as the "tres viri aere argento auro flando feriundo" ("the three men responsible for casting and striking bronze, silver and gold"), a lengthy title that was almost always abbreviated to "III.V.A.A.A.F.F.".
Stylistically the coins were distinctly Roman and, due to both their size and their being cast rather than struck, crude compared to the coinage elsewhere around the Mediterranean at the time.
Greek-style struck bronze coins were produced in small quantity with the inscription ΡΩΜΑΙΩΝ around 300 BC; only a handful of examples exist today.
It was clearly part of a broader trend; payment of Roman and allied troops fighting in the Pyrrhic war appears to have been crucial in spreading the use of Greek-style coinage throughout the southern Apennine areas of Italy.
[9] Quintus and his brother Cnaeus Ogulnius had, as curule aediles, prosecuted moneylenders; part of the proceeds were used to set up near the Ficus Ruminalis a statue of Romulus and Remus being suckled by the she-wolf as shown on the reverse.
[10] Some historians believe that these coins were valued at 10 asses making them denarii, this assertion is based on the account of Pliny in the 1st century AD, where he states that the denarius was introduced in 269 BC.
The denarius (RRC 44/5), valued at 10 asses as indicated by the mark X and weighing about 4.5 grams (72 to a Roman pound), was introduced as part of a complex multi-metallic coinage.
Also in silver was the half denarius, the quinarius (RRC 44/6, marked V), and the quarter denarius, the sestertius (RRC 44/7, marked IIS and shown on the left), all bearing a head of Roma on the obverse and a reverse of the dioscuri riding with their capes behind (a reference to their supposed assistance to Rome at the battle of Lake Regillus).
It seems to have been quite separate from the denarius system proper as X-ray fluorescence spectrometry has shown that these were produced to an entirely different standard of fineness.
While an analysis of 52 early denarii, quinarii, and sestertii showed a silver concentration of 96.2 ± 1.09%, 19 victoriati from the same period have highly variable fineness ranging from 72 to 93%.
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.
Denarii were marked with special symbols (such as a star or an anchor) from very shortly after their introduction and soon monograms indicating the tresviri monetales (mint masters, often called moneyers, that were responsible for the issue) were on the coins.
The example reverse shown to the left (RRC 187/1 showing Luna driving a biga) is one such; a shell symbol appears above the horses along with the letters "PVR" below.
The seated individual is wearing a cuirass, holding a spear in his left hand and an apex, the characteristic hat worn by the flamines, in his right.
M. Brutus was clearly making a pointed, uncompromising statement of opposition to Pompey and the triumvirate while praising his ancestors.
[25] In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was preparing for war with Parthia to avenge the defeat inflicted by the Parthians on Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae.
This was innocuous to Romans, but the obverse showing Caesar himself wearing the gold laurel wreath that the Senate had voted for him was an enormous departure from tradition and deeply offensive.
Other coins minted at the same time bore the text "DICT QVART", indicating that Caesar had been dictator for four years running.
Two years later, just prior to the Battle of Philippi, Brutus produced a coin (RRC 508/3, modern forgery shown to the left) celebrating the freeing of the republic from Caesar's tyranny.
The reverse showed two daggers flanking a pileus (a cap used in the ceremony freeing slaves) and the legend "EID MAR".
The republic survived, by convention more than reality, until Octavian, Caesar's nephew and heir was declared Augustus in 27 BC.
Sometimes particular coins can be linked to a well defined event in history, e.g. the "dict perpet" denarii of Caesar can be dated very closely to his assassination, but this is rarely the case.
There is however newer evidence, particularly in the period 170–149 BC, where analysis of the recently discovered Mesagne hoard has led to the alternate chronologies of Hersh & Walker 1984, and Harlan 1995.
