Denarius Pubblico Deposited
A Roman silver coin first issued B.C. 268 with the quinarius and Sestertius as its divisions. At that time the Aes Libralis had been reduced to two ounces in weight and the Denarius was equivalent to ten of them.
The original type bears on the obverse the head of Minerva and the numeral X, and on the reverse the dioscuri on horseback and the legend ROMA in the exergue. There is a tradition that the Romans won the battle of Lake Regilius, circa B.C. 496, by the aid of Castor and Pollux who appeared on the battlefield as youths riding white horses. These early types of Denarii are consequently also known as Castoriati.
In B.C. 217 the value of the Denarius was changed to sixteen Asses, and the numeral XVI substituted, the latter being generally abbrevaited by the sign *.
The Denarius, in A.D. 296, was succeeded by the Centenionalis as a silver coin, and the name Denarius was applied to a copper coin, commonly known as the "third bronze." See Follis.
The gold Denarius, of the same weight as the silver one and of the value of ten, was the same as the half Aureus or Quinarius. it occurs both in the Roman Consular and Imperial series.
The following table shows how extensively the silver Denarii were debased, and their corresponding values:
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)