Getting Started with Roman Coins - Aes Grave (Heavy Bronze) Coinage (290 BC to 211 BC)

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The Aes Grave series of coins was cast in bronze and had intrinsic value – they were literally worth their weight in bronze. The Romans weren’t concerned about the weight of each coin, just that they got the correct number of coins from a pound of bronze, so coins of the same type, time, and mint, can have a wide range of weights. Approximate weights are used below.

Each coin in the series was marked to show its value in “Uncia”, which was one Roman ounce of bronze.

DenominationValue Value MarkNotes
As1 AsIOriginal weight was 12 “Uncia” which is 329g (11.64 oz)
Semis½ AsSOriginal weight was 6 “Uncia” which is 164.5g (5.8 oz)
Triens⅓ As◯◯◯◯Original weight was 4 “Uncia” which is 109.6 g (3.87 oz)
Quadrans¼ As◯◯◯Original weight was 3 “Uncia” which is 82.2 g (2.90 oz)
Sextans⅙ As◯◯Original weight was 2 “Uncia” which is 54.8 g (1.93 oz)
Uncia1/12 AsOriginal weight was 1 “Uncia”. An Uncia was a Roman ounce, which is 27.4g (0.97 oz)
Semuncia1/24 AsΣOriginal weight was 0.5 “Uncia” which is 13.7g (0.49 oz)

The first Aes Grave coin series from the Rome mint (280 BC – 276 BC) to relative scale:

AsRRC 14/1
342.39g
73.6mm
SemisRRC 14/2
158.30g
55mm
TriensRRC 14/3
108.81g
49.4mm
QuadransRRC 14/4
68.32g
43.5mm
SextansRRC 14/5
51.74g
37.5mm
UnciaRRC 14/6
32.34g
28mm
SemunciaRRC 14/7
16.22g
24mm

The First (264-241 BC) and Second (218-201 BC) Punic Wars, along with general inflation, caused the weight of the Aes Grave to fall over time. The weight of one As at the following major milestones was:

DateWeight StandardWeight of one As
290 BCLibral standard329g (12 oz)
270 BCLight or reduced libral standard274g (10 oz)
217 BCSemilibral standard137g (6 oz)
214 BCQuadrantal standard or Post-semilibral standard81g (3 oz)
211 BCSextantal standard54g (2 oz) although 41g (3 oz) has also been quoted. This may be due to the large variability seen in weights of existing examples from each period
141 BCUncial standard27g (1 oz)
91 BCSemuncial standard13.5g (½ oz)

All fractional coins kept the same relationship with the As, so were reduced accordingly. The change in weight (and therefore value) had two repercussions; larger bronze denominations were needed, and smaller denominations became suitable for striking rather than casting. Surprisingly, the smallest denomination coin, the Quartuncia, was introduced in 217 BC when the weight of the As had already halved from its original value.

The added denominations were:

DenominationValue Value Mark on ReverseNotes
Decussis10 AssesXIntroduced in 214 BC
Quincussis5 AssesVIntroduced in 214 BC
Tressis3 AssesIIIIntroduced in 270 BC
Dupondius2 AssesIIIntroduced in 270 BC
Quartuncia1/48 As3 g. Only minted from 217 to 215 BC when the semilibral weight standard was in use

Asses from each standard (to relative scale):

290 BC

Libral Standard

RRC 14/1

342.39g

73.6mm

270 BC

Reduced Libral Standard

RRC 35/1

281.03g

63.9mm

217 BC

Semilibral standard

RRC 38/1

119.9g

51.1mm

214 BC

Quadrantal standard or

Post-semilibral standard

RRC 41/5a

77.82g

43.6mm

211 BC

Sextantal standard

RRC 50/3

40.21g

33.9mm

141 BC

Uncial standard

RRC 290/2

28.69g

32.8mm

91 BC

Semuncial standard

RRC 337/5

11.21g

27.8mm

The following table shows when each coin started being minted, and how it was produced:

Denomination290 BC270 BC217 BC214 BC211 BC
DecussisCast
QuincussisCast
TressisCastCastCast
DupondiusCastCastCastCast
AsCastCastCastCastStruck
SemisCastCastCastStruckStruck
TriensCastCastCastStruckStruck
QuadransCastCastCastStruckStruck
SextansCastCastStruckStruckStruck
UnciaCastCastStruckStruckStruck
SemunciaCastCastStruckStruckStruck
QuartunciaStruck

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