Denarius

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The denarius (/de:.'na:.r?.?s/, pl. d?n?ri?, /de:.'na:.r?.i:/) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War c. 211 BC to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238-244), when it was gradually replaced by the Antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very small quantities, likely for ceremonial purposes, until and through the tetrarchy (293-313).

The word d?n?rius is derived from the Latin d?n? "containing ten", as its value was originally of 10 ass?s. The word for "money" descends from it in Italian (denaro), Slovene (denar), Portuguese (dinheiro), and Spanish (dinero). Its name also survives in the dinar currency.

Its symbol is X?; a letter x with stroke.

Video Denarius

History

A predecessor of the denarius was first struck in 267 BC, five years before the First Punic War with an average weight of 6.81 grams, or ¹/₄₈ of a Roman pound. Contact with the Greeks prompted a need for silver coinage in addition to the bronze currency that the Romans were using during that time. The predecessor of the denarius was a Greek-styled silver coin called the didrachm which was struck in Neapolis and other Greek cities in southern Italy. These coins were inscribed for Rome but closely resemble their Greek counterparts. They were most likely used for trade purposes and were seldom used in Rome.

The first distinctively Roman silver coin appeared around 226 BC. Classic historians sometimes called these coins d?n?ri? in the past, but they are classified by modern numismatists as quadr?g?t?, which is derived from the quadr?gæ, or four-horse chariot, on the reverse, and which with a two-horse chariot or biga was the prototype for the most common designs used on Roman silver coins for the next 150 years.

Rome overhauled its coinage around 211 BC and introduced the denarius alongside a short-lived denomination called the victoriatus. This denarius contained an average 4.5 grams, or ¹/₇₂ of a Roman pound of silver. It formed the backbone of Roman currency throughout the Roman republic.

The denarius began to undergo slow debasement toward the end of the republican period. Under the rule of Augustus (31 BC-AD 14) its silver content fell to 3.9 grams (a theoretical weight of 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 ¹/₉₆ of a pound, or 3.4 grams. Debasement of the coin's silver content continued after Nero. Later Roman emperors reduced its content to 3 grams around the late third century.

The value at its introduction was 10 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. The denarius continued to be the main coin of the Roman Empire until it was replaced by the antoninianus in the middle of the third century. The last issuance of this coin occurred in bronze form by Aurelian, between AD 270 and 275, and in the first years of the reign of Diocletian. For more details, see 'Denarius', in A Dictionary of Ancient Roman Coins, by John R. Melville-Jones (1990).

Maps Denarius

Debasement and evolution

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Comparisons and silver content

It is difficult to give even rough comparative values for money from before the 20th century, as the range of products and services available for purchase was different. Classical historians often say that in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire (~27BC) the daily wage for an unskilled laborer and common soldier was 1 denarius (with no tax deductions) or about US$2.8 in bread. During the republic (509-27 BC), legionary pay was 112.5 denarii per year (0.3/day), later doubled by Julius Caesar to 225 denarii (0.6/day), with soldiers having to pay for their own food and arms. Centurions received considerably higher pay; under Augustus, the lowest rank of centurion was paid 3,750 denarii and the highest rank, 15,000 denarii.

The silver content of the denarius under the Roman Empire (after Nero) was about 50 grains, 3.24 grams, or ¹/₁₀ (0.105ozt) troy ounce. On June 6, 2011, this was about US$3.62 in value if the silver were 0.999 pure.

The fineness of the silver content varied with political and economic circumstances. From a purity of greater than 90% silver in the first century A.D., the denarius fell to under 60% purity by the end of the second century A.D., and plummeted to 5% purity by the end of the third century A.D. By the reign of Gallienus, the antoninianus was a copper coin with a thin silver wash.

By comparison, a laborer earning the minimum wage in the United States in January 2014 made US$58 for an 8-hour day, before taxes (utilizing the mode value of $7.25 per hour, which was true then in 20 states) and a labourer earning the minimum wage in the United Kingdom in 2014 made GBP£52 for an 8-hour day, before taxes.

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Influence

In the final years of the first century BC Tincomarus the ruler of part of Britain started issuing coins that appear to have been made from melted down Denarii.The coins of Eppillus, issued around Calleva Atrebatum during the same time period, appear to have derived design elements from various d?n?ri? such as those of Augustus and M. Volteius.

Even after the denarius was no longer regularly issued, it continued to be used as a unit of account, and the name was applied to later Roman coins in a way that is not understood. The Arabs who conquered large parts of the land that once belonged to the Eastern Roman Empire issued their own gold dinar. The lasting legacy of the denarius can be seen in the use of "d" as the abbreviation for the British penny before 1971. It survived in France as the name of a coin, the denier. The denarius also survives in the common Arabic name for a currency unit, the dinar used from pre-Islamic times, and still used in several modern Arab nations. The major currency unit in former Principality of Serbia, Kingdom of Serbia and former Yugoslavia was dinar, and it is still used in present-day Serbia. The Macedonian currency denar is also derived from the Roman denarius. The Italian word denaro, the Spanish word dinero, the Portuguese word dinheiro, and the Slovene word denar, all meaning money, are also derived from Latin denarius.

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Value

The gold aureus seems to have been a "currency of account," a denomination not commonly seen in daily transactions due to its high value. Numismatists think that the aureus was used to pay bonuses to the legions at the accession of new emperors. It was valued at 25 denarii.

1 gold aureus = 2 gold quinarii = 25 silver denarii = 50 silver quinarii = 100 bronze sestertii = 200 bronze dupondii = 400 copper asses = 800 copper semisses = 1600 copper quadrantes

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Use in the Bible

The denarius has been commonly identified as the tribute penny held by Jesus in the Render unto Caesar passage Matthew 22:15-22 and Mark 12:13-17.

In the New Testament, the gospels refer to the denarius as a day's wage for a common laborer (Matthew 20:2, John 12:5). In the Book of Revelation, during the Third Seal: Black Horse, a choinix (or quart) of wheat and three quarts of barley were each valued at one denarius. Bible scholar Robert H. Mounce says the price of the wheat and barley as described in the vision appears to be ten to twelve times their normal cost in ancient times. Revelation describes a condition where basic goods are sold at greatly inflated prices. Thus, the black horse rider depicts times of deep scarcity or famine but not of starvation. The English word "quart" translates choinix. Apparently, a choinix of wheat was the daily ration of one adult. Thus, in the conditions pictured by Revelation 6 the normal income for a working-class family would buy enough food for only one person. The less costly barley would feed three people for one day's wages.