Unveiling the Denarius: A Historical Ode to Rome's Beloved Coin
The Denarius — A Personal Love Letter to Rome's Common Silver Coin
When I was 13 years old, my father took me to a coin shop nestled between a row of clothing stores and bubble tea shops in my local shopping mall in Mississauga, Ontario.
At the time, my coin collecting experience was limited to interesting dimes and quarters I would find scattered among the common Canadian pocket change my parents would accrue from shopping in the early 2000s.
Upon stepping inside, my eyes were entranced by the sheer variety — special editions from the Canadian Mint, proof sets from my birth year, gold coins from foreign mints. But the thing that caught my eye the most was a small silver coin that looked like none of the others the shop carried.
It was in a humble cardboard holder. It had the name "Domitian" on it, the words "Roman coin" — and the year it was minted, 89 A.D.
"My mind was blown. And I had plenty of questions."
How was a coin nearly 2,000 years old available in my local shop? Who was Domitian? What was this coin called? And — probably most importantly for my father — how much did it cost?
As an ancient coin collector today, I now have all the answers I was looking for. But as a child standing there in The House of Stamps in Square One Shopping Mall, that sense of wonder is something I'll never forget. After convincing my dad to purchase the coin, a hobby was born.
Fast forward to today — as a 29-year-old man, that hobby has endured. And my interest in Rome's common little silver coin that could, the denarius, has too.
What Is a Denarius?
If you aren't an ancient coin collector, you might have the same questions I did as a 13-year-old. That little silver Roman coin is called a denarius, and it acted as the backbone of the Roman economy for just under 500 years during the Republic and Empire's illustrious history.
A denarius is a small silver coin. Its weight and silver purity fluctuated wildly during the prosperous and torrid times of the Roman Empire. But for the time it was minted, it was always among the most common coins in circulation.
Like many empires of its day, Rome based its monetary system on precious metals. The denarius was the more common silver coin, and the aureus was a more valuable and uncommon gold coin.
The Beginning of the Denarius
The denarius was first minted during the Second Punic War in 211 BC. At the time, the Republic of Rome was waging a long-standing war against the Carthaginian Empire and its charismatic leader, Hannibal.
Roman armies in Spain and Greece had managed to capture mines previously controlled by Carthage, and used the plunder to create a new monetary system based around the silver denarius.
The Denarius During the Roman Republic and Imperatorial Era
While the denarius initially weighed 4.55 grams (1/72 of a Roman pound), in 206 BC this was changed to 3.9 grams — a standard which would remain for approximately 200 years.
The first design was chosen to exemplify the values of the Roman Republic. On the obverse was the goddess Roma in a winged helmet. On the reverse, the Dioscuri — Castor and Pollux — on horseback, with the inscription ROMA beneath them.
The decision to include deities instead of politicians remained the cultural standard for centuries — until the leaders of the imperatorial era began placing their portraits on coinage. Gaius Julius Caesar was the first Roman to have his likeness stamped on denarii while still alive — an act which scandalized his contemporaries and signified the ushering in of the Imperial era.
While Caesar would be assassinated in 44 BC before the Empire truly began, his successors made it a cultural norm to place their portraits on the obverse of the humble denarius.
From Augustus to Nero
In 27 BC, Augustus took the throne, officially ushering in the Imperial Era. By this point, it had become culturally acceptable to include the portrait of the living ruler on coinage — and Augustus took full advantage.
He wisely used the humble denarius as a tool for propaganda, placing his youthful image alongside the images of various deities to assert himself as a divine ruler — a concept previously abhorred by Rome.
The denarius would remain largely unchanged in weight and purity until the reign of Nero in 54 AD. Nero's rule saw conflicts across the empire — the Roman-Parthian war, the first of the Great Jewish Revolts, and multiple civil wars. Rome also experienced a disastrous fire in 64 AD, which caused Nero to reduce the purity of the denarius to 93.5% silver and its weight to 3.4g.
"Augustus used the humble denarius as a tool for propaganda — placing his image alongside deities to assert himself as a divine ruler."
The Death of the Denarius
Subsequent emperors continued to debase the denarius by weight and silver purity as the empire expanded and costs rose. By 215 AD, Emperor Caracalla decided to mint a new coin — the antoninianus — meant to be worth 2 denarii but containing only 1.5 denarii worth of silver.
This led to rapid inflation, with Romans hoarding the more intrinsically valuable denarii.
By the middle of the third century, the denarius had lost all of its value and was eventually replaced by the antoninianus. Roman gold and silver mines were being depleted, and the empire had fallen into economic disrepair. The remaining denarii that were minted were used mainly for ceremonial purposes.
Why I Personally Love the Roman Denarius
After our abridged history lesson, only one question remains — why do I personally love this common silver coin?
To me, the denarius represents Rome at its peak — both in terms of cultural impact and economic strength. The bulk of these coins were minted when the Republic and Empire was in full swing, and when some of the most prominent names in Rome — Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero, Trajan — were making their impact on human history.
Additionally, because of how common the coins were, Roman denarii remain a relatively affordable way to collect Roman Imperial coinage. Big bronze sestertii and valuable gold aurei remain darlings of the collector community, making their price points often out of reach for the average collector. Conversely, beautiful denarii of some of the most popular Roman emperors remain plentiful and accessible.
Above all else — perhaps subliminally — the denarius still brings me back to that moment when I was 13 years old, staring in complete wonder at a coin of Domitian in my local coin shop's display case.
"A feeling shared by nearly every collector in the ever-growing ancient coin collecting community."
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