Denarius: coin of Roman Empire; 4 sestertius or 10 as

DENARIUS: COIN OF ROMAN EMPIRE

Denarius, 145-147 AD: Roman Empire (Marcus Aurelius; Honos)

Denarius, 145-147 AD: Roman Empire (Marcus Aurelius; Honos)

Ruler: Marcus Aurelius — Roman consul in 140, 145 and 161; Roman emperor from 161 to 180.

ND (no date).

COS II (Consul II; Marcus Aurelius became consul for the second time in 145).

Honos (Honor) — Roman god personifying honor with an olive branch and a horn of plenty (Cornucopia).

AVRELIVS CAESAR AVG P II F (Aurelius Caesar Augustus Pius II Filius): Caesar Aurelius son of Augustus Pius.

Portrait of the young Marcus Aurelius.

Interesting to know: Marcus Aurelius went down in history not only as a ruler but also as a philosopher ("the Philosopher on the Emperor's Throne").

Rome mint, Italy.

  • Silver: 18 mm - 3.0 g
  • Reference price: 12$

COIN DENARIUS — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
  1. ROMAN REPUBLIC + ROMAN EMPIRE (3th century BC — 3th century AD): denarius = 4 sestertius = 10 as (later — 16 as; by the way, in the plural as — asses)

As for the origin of the name of the coin denarius (plural: denarii), it's simple: originally the silver denarius consisted of 10 bronze asses, and in Latin the phrase "the one consisting of ten" is written as "denarius". Moreover, the symbol "X" was chosen as a symbol of the coin. Numismatics considers a whole group of coins that can be considered the descendants of the denarius: denar, denaro, dinar, diner, denier, penny, pfennig...