Hill, George Francis: A handbook of Greek and Roman coins (London: Macmillan, 1899)

CH. V]

MONETARY OFFICIALS

135

The vigintivirate, the magisterial college in which the tresviri
monetales were included, was established definitively in n b. c.
Although the names of the triumvirs vanish from the coins,
lapidary inscriptions in plenty attest the existence of the office
for at least two and a half centuriesBut although they
retained the full title of ‘ triumvirs appointed to cast and strike
gold, silver, and bronze,’ their competence was restricted to
the last metal. The mention of these triumvirs in inscriptions
ceases soon after the middle of the third century a. d., and
shortly after this time (under Aurelian) the senatorial right of
issuing money was suppressed, and presumably at the same
time the board of triumvirs ceased to exist. The change is
probably connected with the great revolt of the moneyers
in 274 a. d.
The coinage of the imperial gold and silver was entrusted
to officials of the imperial treasury. We hear of Caesar’s
having placed private slaves in charge of his coinage; of
a familia monetalis in the imperial household ; of one Julius
Thallus, a freedman of Caligula, who was superpositus auri
monetai. nummulariorum under Claudius. In the time of
Domitian it was the chief official of the imperial treasury
(with the title a rationibus or rationalis) who superintended
the coinage at the mint in Rome, though doubtless not in
the various supplementary provincial mints.
Trajan it probably was who centralized the whole system
of Roman imperial coinage, both at home and abroad, placing
the general management in the hands of a procurator monetae
Augusti, who had under his orders dispcnsatores, probably
all slaves or imperial freedmen. These procurators were men
of equestrian rank; and they remained under the control
of the rationalis (at least it was a rationalis Felicissimus who
instigated the revolt of the moneyers under Aurelian)1 2.
After the suppression of the senatorial coinage, at the close
of the third century, we find special procurators appointed
under the chief procurator. Such are the proc. sacrae monetae
per Gallias tres et prov. Narbonens. and proc, sacrae monetae
Trivericae. This arrangement was finally extended and re-
1 The title is Illvir a. a. a. f. f, or Lllvir monetalis a. a. a. f.f, &c. The
inscriptions are collected by Lenornrant, iii.pp. 185 ff.
2 Vopisc. Aurelian, 38.