Weight of the denarius and how it changed over time.

[Paddy]

The weight of the denarius changed over time. In general, the coins of Augustus weighed more than the coins of Trajanus. Everybody seems to know how much the different denarii are supposed to weigh. Well.. *LOL*:. everybody but me...

Where can one find more information on what the general weight range is for the denarius and how that general weight changed over time?

Thanks in advance,

Patrik

Post scriptum: I have posted three different questions in three different threads. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to put them all in one or in three separate ones. I do hope it's ok.

[PeterD]

I'm not sure that the weight of the denarius did change over time or if it did, we can even tell. Weights of individual coins are quite erratic. This may be because coins were produced in bulk and not individually weighed.

I have a full weight coin of Augustus of 3.7 grams. I have one of Septimius Severus at exactly the same weight and several others over the period above that. Many are much lower. The lowest is 2.4 grams. Probably the trend is lower but we can't say from individual coins.

[cmcdon0923]

A quick search on Wikipedia (OK....not always 1000% accurate, but.....) brought up the following comment:

The denarius began to experience slow debasement towards the end of the Republic. Under the rule of Augustus its silver content fell to 3.9 grams (a theoretical weight of 1⁄84 of a Roman pound). It then remained at near this weight until the time of Nero, when it was reduced to 1⁄96 of a pound, or 3.4 grams. Regular debasement of the silver began after Nero. Later Roman emperors reduced it to a weight of 3 grams around the late 3rd century.[7]



I'm not 100% certain if the weights they're giving are the weight of the actual coin, or as it sounds, the amount of actual silver in the coin.  If the latter, the weight of the actual coin may have remained somewhat consistent due to the other alloys making up for the loss of silver content.

[Andrew McCabe]

A quick search on Wikipedia (OK....not always 1000% accurate, but.....) brought up the following comment:

The denarius began to experience slow debasement towards the end of the Republic. Under the rule of Augustus its silver content fell to 3.9 grams (a theoretical weight of 1⁄84 of a Roman pound). It then remained at near this weight until the time of Nero, when it was reduced to 1⁄96 of a pound, or 3.4 grams. Regular debasement of the silver began after Nero. Later Roman emperors reduced it to a weight of 3 grams around the late 3rd century.[7]



I'm not 100% certain if the weights they're giving are the weight of the actual coin, or as it sounds, the amount of actual silver in the coin.  If the latter, the weight of the actual coin may have remained somewhat consistent due to the other alloys making up for the loss of silver content.

I think it is the coin weight, not the silver weight. Until the middle of the first century AD, the two were the same as denarii were made of almost pure silver (in practice typically about 97%). The denarius started at 1/72 pound about 214 BC, then fell to 1/84 pound about 200 BC, then remained at that weight (apart from minor weight or fineness reductions during the Social War and during the later Civil Wars, that were later restored) until Nero, who reduced it to 1/96 pound. So it was constant in both weight and fineness for over 250 years. That's an amazing record. It's decline period lasted less than 200 years, then it fell out of circulation in the mid third century AD. I want to cite these relative figures - over 250 years pure silver and constant weight versus a shorter decline period - to counter the impression that the denarius was somehow a continually debased coin. It wasn't. For most of its 450 year life the denarius remained pure, unalloyed silver and of constant weight.

[Kevin D]

Where can one find more information on what the general weight range is for the denarius and how that general weight changed over time?

This information is presented in a number of books.

I consider 'Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700' by Kenneth Harl to be a great book. It is not expensive and not difficult to locate.

One place to look for this and other books is bookfinder.com

[Dominic T]

Do not forget NumisWiki Patrick. When you see a word in blue color in a post (like denarius in your OP), click on it and you’ll discover treasures!
DT
https://www.forumancientcoins.com/numiswiki/view.asp?key=Denarius

[Meepzorp]

Hi folks,

Since I am a moderator of this section of Forum, I removed some posts from this topic. As others pointed out, on 6/14/23, 2 new Forum members began posting in long dormant topics.

In a PM, I reported it to Joe that night. As someone wrote here in a post that I deleted, I also suspected that those 2 new Forum members were AI spambots. In fact, I wrote exactly that in my PM to Joe. Joe deleted a few posts and banned those 2 new Forum members (who may not have been humans).

In the future, when you suspect these sorts of things, please report it as soon as possible.

Meepzorp

[Virgil H]

I appreciate your efforts and agree spam bots, etc., are a problem. Yet, I often do searches and also at limes I just intentionally go back in time to look at stuff before I was here. I think I have probably revived a long dormant thread. As an aside, the wealth of knowledge in this Forum is simply amazing and that includes posts from earlier days. Some by members who are no longer with us.

So, I understand the issues being addressed. What if someone legit wants to comment on a topic from years ago? Start a new thread and maybe reference the old one? I am also a moderator, but my section is unfortunately the least active, LOL, so, while I have deleted spam (maybe once or twice), I have never run into the AI bot stuff.

Thanks,
Virgil

[v-drome]

I think reviving or bumping a thread from long ago is fine if there is new information or questions directly related to it.  Some important ones can be pinned to the top of the list by request, also, if appropriate.  The BS ones are pretty obvious, especially when they go down the line posting nonsensical platitudes in every category!