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Silver Roman coin, half a denarius
A quinarius of 90 BC of L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi: Obv.: head of Roma right in a winged helmetq; V (asses) for quinarius. Rev.: Dioscuri riding right, stars above heads; ROMA below.
The
quinarius
(plural:
quinarii
[1]
) was a small silver
Roman coin
valued at half a
denarius
.
Æ
quinarius of
Allectus
, Camulodunum (Colchester) mint. Obv.: IMP C ALLECTVS P F AVG, radiate, cuirassed bust right. Rev.: VIRTVS AVG, galley rowing left; QC in exergue.
The quinarius was struck for a few years, along with the silver
sestertius
, following the introduction of the
denarius
in 211 BC. At this time the quinarius was valued at 5
asses
. The coin was reintroduced in 101 BC as a replacement for the
victoriatus
, this time valued at 8 asses due to retariffing of the denarius to 16 asses in 118 BC. For a few years following its reintroduction, large quantities of quinarii were produced, mostly for circulation in
Gaul
. The coin was produced sporadically until the 3rd century. Its symbol is ??.
The term
gold
quinarius
or
quinarius aureus
is used to describe the half-
aureus
, which is valued at 12.5 denarii. This term has no ancient authority.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Oxford English Dictionary, Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Quinarius
.
