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Denomination: Denarius
Era: c. 141 BC
Metal: AR
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma r. with peaked visor; “XVI” behind; Border of dots
Reverse: Dioscuri riding r. l IVLI below and to right of horsemen. ROMA in exergue
Mint: Rome
Weight: 3.75 gm.
Reference: Crawford 224/1
Provenance: John Jencek, 6-July-2009.
One of the five issues listed by Crawford in RRC with mark of value XVI, and connected with the retariffing of the denarius from 10 to 16 asses. This retariffing would reduce the amount of silver that could be exchanged for a given amount of bronze.
After these five issues in 141-140 BC, this value marking was mysteriously dropped in favor of the X mark of value, and later the x-dash symbol but the reckoning of 16 asses to 1 denarius remained for the duration of the denarius as a denomination for about 450 years.
Some interesting facts that may help to explain the transition to 16 Asses include:
• The weight of the bronze coinage had significantly dropped over time to well below the uncial standard.
• About the same time as the denarius mark of value change from X to XVI around 140 BC, the As bronze coin ceased to be produced, although its fractions continued to be minted in small quantities.
• The Roman Army was paid in silver, so this retariffing presumably had no impact on their compensation and was not controversial within the army.
The explanation for the abandonment of the XVI mark of value in favor of the (obsolete) X mark of value is unknown.
This coin is the most common of the five issue with XVI mark of value. The reverse is from a somewhat worn die and is off-center, obscuring some of the far dioscuri at 1:00 to 3:00. Otherwise, AEF / VF