It is still hard to comprehend that the Romans were able to create an empire as vast and as powerful as they did.  Lasting several centuries and covering Europe, Asia Minor and Northern Africa and even overtaking their historical enemies the Greeks, their empire was of a magnitude that has been unsurpassed, but often dreamed.

Their coins are a reflection of this history, each coin is like a tiny window through which we may glimpse many facets of the cultures that produced them.  Each tells a story of what was happening in the Roman world when it was struck. All we have to do is read what is on it, look at the images, and that story comes back to life after almost 2000 years.

Early Roman coins were made purely of precious metals like silver, but over time emperors devalued the currency by melting down these coins and then reissuing them with a lower percentage of precious metals. As the Roman economy weakened, the coins became of so little worth that by the 3rd century, a Roman coin might contain only one percent silver. Roman coins used during the empire generally depicted the emperor who issued them on at least one side and important Roman symbols on the other.

During the Roman Republic, coins were minted in the Temple of Juno Moneta on the Capitoline Hill in Rome. The word 'money' is derived from the name Moneta. One of the reasons why we are able to date Roman archaeology with such accuracy is the abundance of coins produced during this period. In combination with pottery finds, which can often be identified as coming from a particular place at a particular time, they can enable us to be remarkably specific about the dates of sealed archaeological deposits. A coin mislaid by a Roman legionary 2,000 years ago can thus help us to date other finds made in association with it. At the very least, we know that the coin can't have been dropped there before the date when it was minted.

Bronze and Brass Coins
From the early third century BC, these bronze pieces began to be standardised and marked, forming a regular currency. The basic unit was the as, which weighed one Roman pound, or libra (327.45g). This was divided into twelve aes grave, or Roman ounces.

Silver and Gold Coins
From 269 BC, the Romans introduced a higher-denomination Greek-style silver coin. This lasted until around 187 BC, when the currency was reorganised and the silver denarius, worth about 10 asses, was introduced. Inflation led to the as being devalued later in the century, and by about 130 BC it was worth 16 to the denarius.

Under Augustus (who ruled from 31 BC to 14 AD), new coins were introduced and the gold aureus (worth 400 asses) became more common.