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If we ignore bronze issues, the denominations used during the Imperatorial period are relatively simple. The gold Aureus (which was introduced by Sulla) and the silver Denarius were the main coins issued, supported by occasional issues of the silver Sestertius (starting 48 BC and ending 44 BC), and the silver Quinarius (starting 47 BC).
Because the Imperators spent much of their time at war, coin production was no longer confined to Rome. The need to pay the armies meant that mints frequently travelled with them. The coins started to feature portraits of the Imperators themselves, and the reverses became more varied as they were used for propaganda.
Photo Copyright American Numismatic Society (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Bronze coins were issued sporadically during this period, but to quote Crawford:
“The one Sullan issue of bronze … did not adopt the new standard. With the Sullan issue, the striking of bronze by the Roman Republic came to an end for over thirty years; of the bronze coinage of the period of the civil wars it is impossible to form a clear picture.
System and sanity returned only with the principate of Augustus”
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