HISTORICAL ROMAN COINS
assume that when the denarius was introduced the
weight of the as was fixed by law. The normal
weight of the earliest denarius is 4'55 grammes
(4 scruples). At the rate of 120 : 1, it would be
equivalent to 546 grammes of bronze, or 10 pieces of
54’6 grammes. The as of the time must therefore
have weighed 54-6 grammes, which is (the sextans')
of the pound of 327'45 grammes. In other words,
the as of the original denarius system was of the
sextantai standard.
There is, however, a certain body of opinion in
favour of the view that the as had not fallen quite so
low at the time of the introduction of the denarius,
and that it belonged not to the sextantai but to the
triental standard; that is to say, that the denarius was
the equivalent in value of 10 asses of 109'15 grammes.
Such an equation postulates a ratio between silver
and bronze of no less than 240 :1.1 We should there-
fore have to assume that, when the denarius was
instituted, silver was forced up in value to twice as
much as it had been hardly a generation before.
There is nothing incredible in this, since, as we have
seen, silver was now the dominant partner in the
system, and the bronze coin was little more than a
token. Still, so violent a change in the ratio between
been combined with them so as to give the sign H S generally used in
texts for sestertius.
1 1091'5 = 239’8 X 4’55.
30
assume that when the denarius was introduced the
weight of the as was fixed by law. The normal
weight of the earliest denarius is 4'55 grammes
(4 scruples). At the rate of 120 : 1, it would be
equivalent to 546 grammes of bronze, or 10 pieces of
54’6 grammes. The as of the time must therefore
have weighed 54-6 grammes, which is (the sextans')
of the pound of 327'45 grammes. In other words,
the as of the original denarius system was of the
sextantai standard.
There is, however, a certain body of opinion in
favour of the view that the as had not fallen quite so
low at the time of the introduction of the denarius,
and that it belonged not to the sextantai but to the
triental standard; that is to say, that the denarius was
the equivalent in value of 10 asses of 109'15 grammes.
Such an equation postulates a ratio between silver
and bronze of no less than 240 :1.1 We should there-
fore have to assume that, when the denarius was
instituted, silver was forced up in value to twice as
much as it had been hardly a generation before.
There is nothing incredible in this, since, as we have
seen, silver was now the dominant partner in the
system, and the bronze coin was little more than a
token. Still, so violent a change in the ratio between
been combined with them so as to give the sign H S generally used in
texts for sestertius.
1 1091'5 = 239’8 X 4’55.
30