History of Roman Coins
 The
history of Roman coins and the history of Rome itself are very closely
intertwined. While many books have been written on each of these
subjects, Roman history can be divided up into four basic periods: the
early Republic; the late Republic; the early Empire; and the late
Empire. The coinage changes along with Rome and tells its own version of
Roman history. Before Rome became a republic, it was ruled by kings
beginning with the legendary Romulus in 753 B.C. Until 509 B.C. Rome was
ruled by kings.
 It
was at that time that Rome became a republic. Though poor men were
promised power in the new republican government, they didn’t get it
until after going on strike. Afterwards, poor men (except for slaves)
were allowed to vote. The way the Roman republic worked was similar to
the form of government in the U.S.: Romans chose leaders who decided
upon legislation on their behalf. The Roman Senate, however, was made up
of wealthy men only. Eventually poor people elected tribunes who had
veto power over Senate votes that were detrimental to their rights.
During this time the Roman army had conquered much of the middle part of
what is today Italy. The Romans conquered cities, then added them to the
Roman Empire, sometimes giving the new cities the right to vote in Rome.
The more the Romans conquered, the richer they became, making it easier
to conquer the next city. Bronze bars and smaller pieces of bronze were
the most used coinage during this time. The late Republic is generally
agreed to begin around the time of the first Punic War
in 274 B.C. on the island of Sicily. Eventually, Rome took over control
of extensive Mediterranean lands and claimed the Mediterranean itself as
“our sea.” Around 133 B.C. began a series of revolutions and civil wars,
culminating in Julius Caesar’s declaring himself dictator for life and
then being assassinated in 44 B.C. It was around this time that Rome
went from being a republic to being an empire. During this period,
silver coins were used mostly in Greek territories that had been
captured into the Roman Empire. Bronze coins were still widely used,
however. Numerous types of coins were in circulation at this time, and
the coins often bore pictures and inscriptions loyal to various generals
during the upheaval that began around 133 B.C. Caesar Augustus, a
grand nephew of Julius Caesar whom Caesar had actually adopted, became
the first Roman emperor and ruled until his death in A.D 14.
Large brass coins were introduced, some bearing inscriptions celebrating
the emperor, and others bearing allegorical symbols, and sometimes even
pictures of relatives of Augustus. Until around the year 200 A.D. Rome
continuously expanded the empire throughout Europe, northern Africa, and
Asia Minor. Afterwards, many emperors came to power in rapid succession,
with new emperors ousting old ones. Most emperors were generals with
great military power, and most died violently. Late in the third
century, however, Diocletian reformed the government and restored order,
and after a few more minor upheavals Constantine maintained order. It
was then that Christianity became the religion of the empire and the
city of Constantinople was established. Constantine removed himself and
his court to Constantinople. The church, meanwhile, gained power and
Rome fended off barbarian invaders remarkably successfully. But in 410,
Rome was sacked, and the emperor Romulus Augustulus was declared the
last Roman emperor in A.D. 476. During this period of the decline of the
Roman Empire, coins contained Latin inscriptions and mint marks. But
periods of inflation resulted in poorer and poorer quality of the coins,
less use of silver in them, and poor minting, all of which deteriorated
as the empire itself fell. |
