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Roman Denarius – Penny’s Oldest AncestorThe Roman Denarius is the ultimate ancestor of the penny. For centuries the English have used the letter “d” as the symbol for pence or penny, in honor of the denarius, a Roman silver coin that circulated for 450 years throughout the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, including the British Isles – Britannia.In France the medieval silver coin of the same size as the English penny of the time was called a “denier”, derived from “denarius”. Value and FabricationThe denarius is said to have been one day’s pay for a Roman soldier.The first denarius was struck in 211 BCE. It was made from silver the Romans captured when they sacked Syracuse a year before. At first, the denarius weighed a little more than 4 grams, though its weight declined over time. The coins were hand struck from hand cut dies. As up to 30,000 coins could be struck from each individually cut die, the denarius is considered mass produced. MoneyersDesigns and legends were controlled by a triumvirate of mint officers called “moneyers”. The post of moneyer was a political appointment in Rome. Moneyers were permitted to use coin designs and inscriptions for self promotion. The typical Roman denarius will have the moneyer’s name, and some evidence of his lineage via other design elements of the coin.The coin pictured at the top of the page is a denarius struck in 46 BCE. The moneyer was C. Considius Paetus, hence the letters “PAETI” to the left of the head of Apollo. Julius CaesarRoman coins never depicted a living person until 44 BCE, when a denarius bearing the portrait of Julius Caesar wearing a laurel wreath was produced – to the shock and awe of the Senate. As it happened this was the year Caesar was assassinated by Senators fearful of his growing power.Denarius of C. Considius Paetus image courtesy of Stack’s Rare Coins, New York City Go to Top of Roman Denarius page… What is the History of the Penny? Go to Home page…
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