Ancient Coins: Roman Imperial Denominations

The Roman Empire saw centuries of very active economic activity and enormous prosperity. As a very monetized society, it needed many different denominations to facilitate trade between its millions of citizens.
Today, we will explore the Monetary Reform of Augustus, going from the most humble of copper coins all the way to the gold pieces, know their relative values between one another, and see a real-life situation on how to give change on ancient Pompeii, lets go!
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Music: Tavern Loop One by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
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[@ClassicalNumismatics]

💰 Help the Channel by "Buying me a Coffee": www.buymeacoffee.com/classicalnumismatics

[@danielconde13]

The joy of hearing Latin properly spoken is only surpassed by the joy of the informative content of the video.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Ave, amicvs!

[@danielconde13]

@@ClassicalNumismatics Ave, ex Gallaecia!

[@williamwilliam5066]

@@danielconde13 Biggus Dikkus

[@siisjwj7647]

@@williamwilliam5066 😂😂😂

[@IanZainea1990]

For those curious, here is a list of the number of each denomination that add up to a Denarius: 1 Denarius = 2 Quinarii 4 Sestersii 8 Dupondii 16 As 32 Semii 64 Quadrans Double these numbers for 1 Antoninianus 25x these numbers for 1 Aureus Interesting note! If 1 Denarius was a day's wages. And let's say that was for 8 hours of work (probably they worked more, but for easy math), and lunch was 1 As, then that means that lunch was one half-hour's worth of wages. Though probably more likely between one half-hour-wage or one one-hour-wage. And that's just assuming most people made 1 denarius per day, and not just the military. So ask yourself: How much work does it cost you to buy lunch? Do you get paid better than Romans? Edit: Let's say a lunch of similar quality would be $10-15 USD in America

[@Askorti]

If I squeeze a bit, I can actually get an entire day's worth of food for an hour of work, not just lunch. But I live in a country where cost of living is relatively pretty low. (Poland)

[@nicholasricardo8443]

Wow that was great classical pronunciation! Latin is such a beautiful language

[@writheinthedeepfry3859]

There is just something about touching a coin that has went through hand after hand for over a millennia.

[@vfc1860]

That is in my opinion worth more than holding a bag of gold

[@John_NJDM]

This was a very easy to understand look at Roman coinage! Thanks for breaking it down. It was very interesting to see you actually handle real coins.

[@cerv.5110]

Love this channel, i came from r/Coins, and i fell in love with the easy to digest guides for classical numismatics.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thats really cool, thanks for the support! I´d love to post some of my content there, instead of just on r/ancientcoins, but the mods seem to delete everything. Still, good to see people looking into ancients as well, hope you enjoy the next videos as well!

[@salmanguitarist162]

Sar my name is Salman Im from Pakistan but I am Christian coins sale

[@prajjwalgarag8815]

Gr8 video

[@Hybridious]

If I was an 8th grader I would've laughed at the coin 'As' pronounciation. Then made some joke about paying in it. Other than that I was surprised to see that the Romans were almost as modern as the modern day with finance, they had a complex taxing system, with loans and such really cool.

[@philwardle7369]

I'm just getting into ancient coins and found this very helpful indeed as I am now, as a pensioner, just starting to invest in some uncleaned items as a hobby for the surprise of seeing what they turn out to be. Ever since I visited Pompeii as a child with my parents in the 1950's, which had a profound effect on me, I have been fascinated with ancient history, especially Roman. As an aside, now being an ancient myself, I was taught Latin (and sadly, less Greek) as a matter of course back then and was fairly fluent, so I must compliment you on your excellent pronunciation of classical Latin.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thank you very much for the compliment! Since my primary language is a romance one (portuguese) I must admit I have sone natural advantages to speaking it. Hopefully in the future, and with some time, I plan on getting formal Latin training so I may improve it even further :)

[@ausfyausfy2455]

10:00 I knew Nero was a thicc emperor, but I never knew even the coin depicted his thicc neck!

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

His coins are fascinating! He goes from a young, normal boy on the early coins to something very similar to a pig in the very last portraits!

[@thatoneguy7191]

1:12 The way you said 'hi everyone!' as soon as that statue of Trajan showed up made it seem like he was the one teaching people about ancient coins xD

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Trajan: The Best Emperor and the Best Numismatist

[@harrisonfiller841]

Thank you! I’m very new to coin collecting but Roman coins are one of my interests.

[@blakes8288]

That Augustus denarius is so beautiful! It’s truly a museum worthy piece. In my experience it’s extremely rare for the entire circle around the portrait of a coin to remain. Sometimes parts of it remains but the entire thing is rare. It’s definitely an overweight denarius. Oh and an expensive one! I could see that selling for $5,000 easily. I’ve been looking for an Augustus denarius in similar condition (even without the full circle) with a $2,500 budget and so far I’ve found nothing. Don’t even get me started on trying to find a reasonably priced denarius of Caligula.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Indeed, this Denarius is from a gentleman that graciously contributes some coins to the channel. It is a fantastic piece, and I cant help but getting a liiiiittle bit jealous of him.

[@Dwg256]

#5.

[@jileel]

That coin with the closed gate is stunning.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Indeed, its a masterpiece of coin die engraving!

[@MrYdna1984]

Good job! Very attractive video material! :-)

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thank you! Glad you like it :)

[@leehooks4957]

So good. Thanks

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

There's more from where that came from!

[@thzen6012]

Awesome! Thanks a lot for this video!

[@BopWalk]

I freaking love this channel! I have some cool roman coins in my.collection. Agustus, Hadrian, Trajan, Constantine I.

[@barndoorbangers4364]

I'm researching roman and greek coins to make some novelty replicas. Your channel is so helpful.

[@daver8521]

One thing that really annoys me is that when you watch a movie set in ancient Rome, they will quote prices in "gold pieces" or "talents." Romans usually priced things in sesterces, occaisionally in denarii.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Totally. The one single thing that annoyed me on HBO's Rome was them constantly calling coins "Obols". Thats a greek denomination!

[@y11971alex]

If I remember correctly, some of the "Germanicus" are inherited names from their adoptive families as the Julian dynasty adopted their successors.

[@Micloren]

Great explainer video for a Roman coin newb like myself.

[@markharris4539]

I've only been collecting Roman coins for a short while now, so found this video most helpful! 👍 😁 Clear and concise. Thank you.

[@Belowbluewaterdiver]

Nice video that cleared up a lot of questions for a beginner! How about later roman coinage? Like the follis, solidus and other denominations you see Diocletian and later?

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

These definitely deserve more than one video! Its one of the topics I wont take long to tackle, stay tuned :)

[@goldblood3212]

I'm currently collecting a denarius for each of the 5 good emperors. I just had my first one (Trajan) come in today! it's reverse is providentia and it was supposedly part of the final batch of coins minted during Trajan's reign, though idk about that last part. It's a really neat coin and I can't wait to get the other 4!

[@davidmcmahon1983]

where are you buying your coins from, I am just wanting to start collecting. How much did your coin cost you?

[@thaitom6410]

Antoninus Pius? One of "the good ones", I suppose.

[@MrDjonz52]

Very interesting! Thank you for the vid.

[@jarrodcomins2399]

Thank you for your skill with Latin. So many lecturers and documentary narrators butcher Latin so terribly.

[@xolaya]

This is nice

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thank you! Hope it was useful

[@wizcate]

really liking the series

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thank you, the positivity I get really helps me make more :)

[@mart1jin509]

Thank you for making this high quality video!

[@thomaslamb1946]

Super video

[@familyvids1]

Did people in Roman times get in trouble for grabbing an As?

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

They would likely see the nasty end of a pugio!

[@mateistoian726]

depends if she liked it

[@guh967]

Your videos are awesome and very informative! I’m more interested in modern coins overall, but you make ancient coins very interesting. :)

[@strykerxl1976]

That was really awesome!! Honestly the video was really well done. You have a sub, like, and notification bell from me!!!

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thanks! There's more to come!

[@mojavegold-]

Appreciated the very informative video. Thanks!

[@criaturaimaginaria5230]

Great video, It was really good!

[@MrMohor]

Amazing presentation!

[@bolbiiii]

High quality stuff appreciate it

[@ImaginationHobbies]

Super informative thanks!

[@ChillBill1]

Great video!

[@jpbonhomme5051]

Great video. Thank you

[@gordongrant408]

Very easy viewing.Top stuff.

[@Mike_Optimo_Principi]

Excellent video

[@lucasdasilvahorst5280]

Great Video👏👏👏

[@ChuckHackney]

It continues to confirm to me how advanced the imperium was in so many ways. Here in the sophistication of their coinage system. They had a gold standard like we did at one time. The west truly did not recover from 476CE until the enlightenment. Hygiene and plumbing not until 1800s. Wow, what a society they put together!

[@MBT06]

Makes me wanna buy my second ancient coin even more!

[@DaRyteJuan]

Wow. Very watchable. 👍🏻

[@MyKhan84]

Hi your channel is so informative

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it

[@6663000]

great video

[@tenglei2]

this is so cool!

[@Gabriel-br4qe]

thanks for the explanations I was really confused during my first time trip

[@woody3066]

Just seen this clip, some lovely coin you have there also I learned something today, now I understand what the S C stands for.😊

[@mickvonbornemann3824]

Well done, much appreciated, Ta Classi Numi

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thanks for the kind words! Im glad you enjoyed it :)

[@user-eg7ex1kw3w]

شكرا

[@gygr3]

7:55 I found 1 such piece in Hungary🍀🪙

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Would you like to support the channel and my work? 💰 Help the Channel by "Buying me a Coffee": www.buymeacoffee.com/classicalnumismatics Consider buying some channel Merch! You get a cool T-Shirt or Mug and you help me make more Ancient Numismatic content. Thank you! leob.creator-spring.com/

[@ChuckHackney]

Thank you so much. I can not get enough of your beautiful pronunciations. If this truly is what Latin sounded like, then it is one of the most beautiful languages ever conceived. You now have a dedicated subscriber. All things Rome, from the republic to the empire, have me hooked in such a way that it is one of the most joyful topics in my life. Also, I have some theories about events in Roman history, especially about the emperor Caligula. Would love to hear your thoughts on him, for as much horror as he caused, I think he maybe one of history's greatest victims. Love to talk with you about this. Also extremely fond of Hadrianus and Trajan, two of my favorite emperors. Cannot get enough of them, either. Our civilization owes Greece and then Rome ( who had the good sense to borrow liberally from them). We would be nothing without them, what I believe is history's greatest ancient civilization, and what they gave us!!!!!!

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thank you very much! My primary language is portuguese, so I admt I have a much easier time pronouncing the hard Cs and the open vowels of latin :)

[@user-re9on9cp8t]

Hi, I love the bronze As in this video. Can you make some video for As, the roman economy's work horse.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

I'd love to get my hands on one of the early republican As, the very heavy cast ones. It would definitely be an interesting topic for a video.

[@user-re9on9cp8t]

@@ClassicalNumismatics That one is so interesting. I will wait for that video! 👍

[@longandshort6639]

Very interesting. Thanks.

[@sebacenturion9604]

Hi. Where are the links to know more about monetary sistems from Rome? Greets from Argentina!

[@cosmo3665]

Debasement always leads to collapse

[@ryaneckhardtgamble7261]

great vid thats a sub from me

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Thanks! Glad you like it, there´s more coming every week :)

[@hasashoepugower1691]

I recently bought a coin of Hadrian that was said to be a As and it looks to be copper but weighs 25 grams from 118 were some coins struck this heavy or is it possible it may be a sesteseus given the Patina does anyone know of the as being struck heavy?

[@GLASBE]

So, what happened to the innkeeper?

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Hopefully he left his coins there and fled to safety! :X

[@jl696]

I have a Roman AR Drachm of Trajan that I recently acquired. The coin was apparently minted in the Eastern Roman empire around 100AD. Would that have the equivalent value of a Denarius? Also, did the Eastern part of the Roman empire in imperial times maintain its own denominations?

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Yes they did maintain their own denominations! There were moneychangers, of course, and maybe you could get a denarius accepted on the east, but in general, the Romans just let the Greek part of the empire keep their own denominations and monetary standards, with some small adaptations to facilitate conversions. Indeed, a Drachm would probably have the equivalent purchasing power of a Denarius

[@jl696]

@@ClassicalNumismatics Very informative video. Thanks for your response. I would very much like to learn about coinage in the republic and during the late empire. You have a new subscriber.

[@ChuckHackney]

And to hear how beautiful it sounded!!!! And to hear how Caesar really sounded then, Kae-sur, a hard C, not our soft c like we say in the words Caesar salad. Thank you, KZbin for teaching me this.

[@ChuckHackney]

Sit Roma en aeternum vive!!!!!!

[@ChuckHackney]

I simply can not get enough of this civilization. I know it also may sound corny, but I have fallen in love with the Starz TV series, Spartacus, which has only added to my fascination. I know there are embellishments and inaccuracies, but so much of it seems real, and history comes leaping thru my TV when I binge watch this show. Long live Capua and Sinuessa en Valle ( does not exist now) but in the day, on or near the Via Appia, as was Capua. I keep my computer and phone by my side every time I watch to check on historical facts. Roman coins and sayings related to money come up often....such as "I pay with the only coin I have." It cost Marcus Crassus 10,000 denari to fully equip each soldier to fight Spartacus. How true was this? And where in God's name did wealthy people of Rome keep all that money? Obviously, they developed the uses of credit, and I think even paper notes, right??,

[@Irvin700]

That Nero neck.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

THICC

[@leonardodtc4847]

First ever neckbeard 🤣

[@barndoorbangers4364]

How thick is the Nero Sestertius?

[@samu0450]

I am pretty sure that the name Germanicus on the coins of Claudius and Nero were family names that had something to do with this guy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanicus

[@QuentinChristensen]

Are you on Mastodon? I share your videos there from time to time, but would have liked to tag you (and follow you) there too :)

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

I am not, what is it about?

[@petarspajic3152]

Who the hell are mastodons?

[@antonioeduardoruette2444]

I read that in theory As was made of copper and Deupondii ans Sestercii mande of orichalcum/brass. Where/when does bronze come into the story? Starting now, and I am a bit lost.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

"Bronze" is more of an umbrella term used for base-metal pieces. Most of these coins had a fiduciary value, so the metal value wasnt very important, and the alloy changed as the years passed. But as for the original standard established by Augustus, its either pure copper or brass, as you mentioned.

[@antonioeduardoruette2444]

@@ClassicalNumismatics Up until when was the Augustus standard respected? Once everything became "bronze", meaning copper/brass/bronze, how can I differentiate As from DUpondius? Thanks!

[@user-gg7ju5ix7x]

I love coins roman and naples italy ...aeternus pater ❤😢

[@thesecondsilvereich7828]

We been using a decimal system for a century now Britain:

[@mmitsuda01]

Your math (or history lessons) sucks. Nowhere near a century.

[@sureshkumar-qw9ny]

So how much gold was in 1 Aureus?.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

Depends on the time period. During the first century AD it was around 8 grams, falling to around 4 grams by the third century AD

[@dxer22000]

would I be right in saying that most people in Roman society, would have rarely (if ever) seen a Gold Aureus let alone handled one?

[@MrJigssaw1989]

Logically i would say you are wrong. If Aureus represents months pay of manual laborer. Then obviously people would have them - as it would be prepousterous to think that majority of people didnt have a months wage in savings. Unless ofcourse they wouldn't have their savings in denarii instead :-)

[@dxer22000]

you forget - it was a feudal society with most of the population being very poor

[@dxer22000]

BTW - Gold is similar to today, but how many people own gold coins today? - only about 1% of the population

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

The majority of hoards consist of silver pieces, indicating that most of the population likely handled bronze and silver alone. It might be an exageration to think that no one but the very wealthy saw gold coins. If you were from the urban middle class, a craftsman, lets say. You might have seen one gold coin or another every now and then.

[@MrJigssaw1989]

@@ClassicalNumismatics Is it likely this was due to Gresham law ? Do we know if gold itself was valued more than the silver would be in equivalent silver coins ? i.e. the richer people who got the gold coins rather spent the silver coins and kept the gold ones ?

[@blakes8288]

Actually you couldn’t buy a modius of wheat with a quadrans. In the first century under Augustus a modius of wheat cost roughly 32 asses or 2 denarii. However a quadrans was exactly the cost of entrance to the Roman baths.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

I did not say you could buy a modius of wheat with a quadrans. I said you could only buy basic foodstuffs SUCH AS wheat with a Quadrans, and a handful of these could get you a modius.

[@blakes8288]

Ah ok fair enough. I guess I misunderstood what you meant. Sorry!

[@user-gg7ju5ix7x]

S C....cunhei sobre permisao dos gregos ...meu povo ...I love greece ...os gregos fizeram roma ❤😢

[@user-gg7ju5ix7x]

Nero amou claudio seu pai ..assim como eu amei o meu ...greek rhodes 😢❤ aeternus pater

[@cherd5343]

Germanicus means "conqueror of the Germans", or something along those lines. But, this word on coins doesn't indicate that the emperors did this, but instead, is a claim of relation to Drusus the Elder (Who was given the honorific title after death) and/or his son Germanicus (Caligula's father, Nero's grandfather). Or..... am I wrong about this?

[@BilgemasterBill]

I suspect the "Germanicus" title held a bit of lustre from both aspects you describe. It was both an esteemed traditional title with its nod to a glorious past all the way back to the times of Augustus, combined increasingly with a sober nod to the later realities of dealing with the ever more troublesome Germans long after the Julio-Claudians had exited the stage. Any emperor who'd ordered so much as a border skirmish with a German tribe would generally be eager to tack a "Germanicus" honorific to his regnal titles.

[@jennifersexton-yu9lo]

I have a small bronze coin with what I believe is Constantine on one side and a wolf with its cubs and a sun. What do I do wit it and do u know it's value?

[@user-if7qs4br4u]

I 15:03 Ingo this video, one can see a Q in the exergue at the coins reverse. Is it a letter for the coins value, Quinarius? Thanks in advance and for a great channel! /Henrik

[@phillipgreen8958]

Could you please explain the difference in the terms. As, asses, assar, assarion, assarii, assarius.. and should you be able to tell me which one would fit properly in Matthew 10:29 in the Bible.?

[@THESPATHARIOS]

Back when the dollar was pegged to gold, a coin with a weight like that of the aureus would roughly value at $8.75 So a roman manual laborer's monthly salary would be around $8.75 Keep in mind that this number made him live out and his family for a whole month, this just shows how much inflation erodes purchasing power.

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

This is a tricky comparison. Lets remember that between the Roman period and the early US, many events changed the gold/silver ratio of nations, and the overall supply of these metals available. Think about the new mines opened on the late middle ages in Germany, that generated a big influx of silver to Europe. Then we discovered the Americas, and an absolute deluge of precious metals flooded the market. We go a bit further into the early modern period and early mechanized mining started to increase mining yelds a lot. On the other hand, the massive population difference between these periods means that extra mass of people represented a deflationary force,, as more gold and silver had to go around for more people. The variables are completely different, its very hard to come up with conclusions that wont hit up some kind of false premisse or falacy.

[@THESPATHARIOS]

@@ClassicalNumismatics You're right it is a tricky one to sort out, but wouldn't you consider that, generally speaking, the variables are proportionate to each of these stated periods of times? both in terms of technology/extracted precious gold & silver and their respective populations?

[@jpbonhomme5051]

The average person back then had a tiny fraction of the access to consumer goods we have today. Even the richest person during that time had almost nothing to buy compared to today. Our needs became tied to the amount available choices

[@thesecondsilvereich7828]

China lasted longer then rome with just copper coins

[@maxtravers1314]

@@THESPATHARIOS… no. Not at all. Because the average historical person spent almost the entirety of their income on food alone. So the scaling of income/ value you’re trying to do is completely incomparable, because the relative value of the things that are necessary for life have become so different

[@Sammy-dz2hk]

this video is WAYYYYY to quiet, you need to change the audio levels when editing

[@ClassicalNumismatics]

My new videos have better audio, just turn the volume up on this one, please :) I'll consider reuploading them in the future with improved audio

[@niccoarcadia4179]

"Germanicus" on the coins rereferred to the man named Germanicus. [Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC - 10 October AD 19] A very popular member of the royal family, not for conquering Germany.

[@markgarin6355]

Guess not including tge English in the century of decimal systems.

[@tomkandy]

It's been 52 years since decimalisation in the uk, so half a century at least

[@AConcernedCitizen420]

Money divides people from essential life! No matter what form of material money comes from! Money separates people from what it takes to stay alive!

[@nathanthemoneyman9191]

found the christian 😂

[@dguy0386]

money is often useful for purchasing goods to stay alive! but it can also make people greedy and thus divide people

[@mynameisantonis]

Money can be exchanged for goods and services

[@jameshudkins2210]

Competition is always a factor. When we decry the ambition of others we say they are greedy. When we justify our own desire we say it is just surviving. We are and have been about the same. We want things the others want too. @@dguy0386

[@thesecondsilvereich7828]

Adam smith was right all money is an illusion

[@nathanthemoneyman9191]

3:37 Among Us top right 😂

[@TieisAwsom]

stop

[@BilgemasterBill]

Thumb's up for a wonderful job! What is surprising is that it seems the sestertius and not the denarius was the standard denomination of account for the Romans. The currency symbol used for sestertii was 𐆘.

[@artemisarrow179]

An excellent video I couldn’t stop watching. Really makes you reflect on the coins we have now