DOMUS ROMANA

Magistra Ellams

Ubi Americani Habitant?Ubi Romani habitaverunt?

Villa Urbana

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Villa rustica

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At the start of the Republic, Romans used the barter system, and cattle -- pecus – as standard exchange. In fact, it was from pecus that the Latin word for money, pecunia, was derived. Eventually pieces of bronze called aes rude became an additional form of exchange. Later, markings were added to these bronze pieces to denote weight and worth. The as weighed a Roman pound or libra -- about 335.9 grams or 0.74 pound -- and became the basic unit of exchange. It was divided into twelve smaller units called aes grave.Contact with the Greeks prompted the Romans to introduce silver coinage in 269 BC. Then, in or about 187 BC, they reorganized their system and from this overhaul came the denarius ($20), a silver coin worth about ten asses. With Augustus, new coins went into circulation using four metals: gold, silver, brass, and bronze (or copper). The gold aureus (~$9,000 per 8gr of gold ), first introduced during the Second Punic War, became more widely used, although the as and denarius remained in circulation. Typically, gold and silver coins had official use, such as the paying of salaries, while the brass and bronze coins were used in everyday transactions.

In the Republic money was minted in the Temple of Juno Moneta on the Capitoline Hill (our word "money" comes from Moneta). Responsibility for minting coins lay with the Senate while the emperor had sole responsibility for minting gold and silver coins.

A Brief Look atThe Monetary Systemin the Roman World

Name Metal Valuesas bronze --

dupondius bronze or copper 2 assessestertius metal alloy 4 asses or 2 dupondiidenarius silver alloy 16 asses, 8 dupondii or 4

sestertiiaureus gold 400 asses, 200 dupondii,

100 sestertii or 25 denarii

ROMAN CURRENCYHere are the commonest denominations and their relative values after the Second

Punic War (i.e., after 201 BC). The value of each was based on the as: