a piece of metal converted into money by the impression thereon of certain marks or figures. Coin differs from Money as the species from the genus.
Ancient Coins are those chiefly which were current among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Their values and proportions are as follows:
| JEWISH | |--------| | Gerah (Sept. obolus) | 0 0 1-33875 | | 10 Bekah | 0 1 1-6875 | | 2 Shekel | 0 2 3-375 | | Maneh | 5 14 075 | | 100 50 Mina Hebreaica | |
Solidus aureus, or sextula, worth 0 12 0½ Sicles aureus, worth 1 18 6 A talent of gold, worth 3475 0 0
In the preceding table silver is valued at 5s., and gold at L.4 per ounce. Of these, the drachma, didrachmon, &c., were of silver; the rest for the most part of brass. The other parts, as tridrachm, tribolus, &c., were sometimes coined. The drachma is nearly equal to a French franc.
The Grecian gold coin was the stater aureus, weighing two Attic drachms, or half of the staterargenteus, and exchanging usually for twenty-five Attic drachms of silver, in our money.
According to our proportion of gold to silver—There were likewise the stater Cyzicenus, exchanging for twenty-eight Attic drachms, or... Stater Philippicus and stater Alexandrinus... Stater Darius, according to Josephus, worth fifty Attic drachms, or... Stater Cresus, of the same value.
### ROMAN COPPER
(Before Augustus.)
| Sextula | Quadrans | Triens | Semissis | As. | Dupondius | Sestertius | Quinarius | Denarius | |---------|----------|--------|----------|-----|-----------|------------|-----------|----------| | | | | | | | | | |
### ROMAN SILVER
(Before Augustus.)
| Sextula | Quadrans | Triens | Semissis | As. | Dupondius | Sestertius | Quinarius | Denarius | |---------|----------|--------|----------|-----|-----------|------------|-----------|----------| | | | | | | | | | |
### ROMAN COINS
(After Augustus.)
| Sextula | Quadrans | Triens | Semissis | As. | Dupondius | Sestertius | Quinarius | Denarius | |---------|----------|--------|----------|-----|-----------|------------|-----------|----------| | | | | | | | | | | Of these, the denarius, victoriatus, sestertius, and sometimes the as, were of silver, and the rest of brass. See As, &c. There were sometimes also coined of brass the triens, sextans, uncia, sextula, and dupondius.
The Roman gold coin was the aureus, which weighed generally double the denarius; the value of which, according to the first proportion of coinage mentioned by Pliny, was 0 15 7 2
According to the proportion that obtains now amongst us, worth ........................................... 0 18 5 3 25
According to the proportion mentioned by Tacitus, and which afterwards obtained, whereby the aureus exchanged for twenty-five denarii, its value was ......................... 0 15 7 2
Modern Coins are treated of under Money. (L s.)