As

Roman bronze coins

Republican period

The as, or more precisely the aes grave (or aes librale), was the first Roman coin. The coin was made of bronze and was initially cast, then subsequently moved to hammer minting. The value of the bronze it contained was linked to the Roman units of weight, with an initial value of one Latin pound (273 g), which then became equal to one Roman pound (327 g).

Various series of this bronze coin were produced, the first of which was the one called "Janus and Mercury", from the images of the deities that appeared on the coin itself, in addition to the sign ("mark") "I" which indicated the value of "an as".

During the Republican period, around 225 BC. and at the same time as the introduction of the quadrigato, the "della prow" series was introduced, named after the prow of a galley which was represented on the back of the coin.

The last series of the as was the so-called "wheel" series, due to the six-spoked wheel that was represented on the back.

Submultiples of the as

The as had fractions that were organized in a duodecimal system based on the ounce, also a value of the Roman weight system; the submultiples of the as are shown in the following table, which also lists the images represented on the obverse and the value mark used to indicate their value relative to the as or the ounce:

The semis (in Latin semis, plural semisses) was the bronze coin that was worth half of an as, that is, six ounces. Its value was indicated by an 'S' on the back which also showed the image of a ship's bow, while on the front the coin showed the image of Saturn. The semis was also initially cast and began to be beaten shortly before the Second Punic War (218-204 BC). The semis was rarely issued in the period of the Roman Empire, ceasing to be minted during the empire of Hadrian (117-138 AD).
As for Byzantine coins, the semis was the coin that was worth half of a solidus.

The triens (in Latin triens, plural trientes) was the bronze coin that was worth a third of the as, i.e. 4 ounces. The most common type of triens had Minerva with four pellets on the obverse, representing the value of four ounces, while on the reverse the prow of a galley was depicted.
It was not a very common coin and it ceased to be minted around 89 BC.

The quadrans (in Latin quadrans, literally "a quarter") was the bronze coin that was worth 1/4 of an as and therefore 3 ounces, a value indicated by the three pellets present on its faces. The head of Hercules was depicted on the obverse, while the reverse had the usual galley prow. After the adoption of the semiuncial system in 90 BC, the quadrans was the lowest value coin to be minted, continuing to be minted until the time of Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD).

The sextans (in Latin sextans) was the bronze coin equal to one sixth of the as, therefore 2 ounces. On the obverse of the coin Mercury was represented, in addition to the value mark of the two pellets which represented its value, while on the reverse there was the usual galley prow, even if in the coinage of central Italy there was a great variety of images, such as shells, a caduceus, tridents, cornucopias, cicadas and more.

The ounce (in Latin uncia, plural unciae), with a weight of approximately 27 grams, was the basis of the duodecimal system of submultiples of the as, with a value equal to one twelfth of this and the mark of a small sphere. The most used image for the front after 240 BC. it was the one of Rome with the helmet.
During the Empire, the ounce was also briefly minted under Trajan (98-117) and Hadrian (117-138). At this stage, the diameter of the coin was 11-14 mm and the weight 0.8-1.2 grams. On the obverse there was the head of the emperor without an inscription, while on the back there was the wording "SC" (Senatus Consulto).

Other bronze coins minted in Rome and linked to the as system were:

• the bes: a coin worth two-thirds of the as (8 ounces) and was produced only in 126 BC. by C. Cassius;
• the dodrans: another extremely rare coin, issued at the same time as the bes, which was worth 3/4 of ;se;
• the quincunx (in Latin quincunx): it was worth 5/12 of the as, therefore 5 ounces. It did not belong to the standard as system and was only used during the Second Punic War (218 - 201 BC) and by some local mints;
• the semiuncia (in Latin semiuncia, i.e. half an ounce): it had the value of the twenty-fourth part of the as. It was the lowest value cast bronze coin of the early period of Roman coinage. The most common images on the obverse were Mercury or the acorn (sometimes marked with the symbol "Σ"), while on the reverse there was normally the prow or the caduceus. It was used until the introduction of the denarius in 210 BC.

Multiples of the as

As for the multiples of the as, the following table shows the main types:

The dupondius (in Latin dupondius, i.e. two pounds) was a cast bronze coin worth 2 asses (i.e. 1/2 sestertius or 1/8 of denarius), although its weight was actually less than two pounds. On the obverse of the coin the head of Rome was represented, while on the reverse a six-spoked wheel.
After the reform of Augustus of 23 BC, the dupondius were minted in orichalcum, a gold-colored bronze alloy, while the coins of lower value were produced in red copper. After Nero's monetary reform of 66 AD, the dupondius was distinguished from the as, to which it was quite similar, with the addition of a crown radiate on the emperor's head in the front image. The use of a corona radiata to indicate a double value of one coin over another was also used for the antoninian (double of the denarius) and in the double sestertius. The dupondius was produced until the end of the 3rd century.

The tripondius was the multiple worth three asses, characterized by the "III" brand.

The decussis was the bronze coin that had the value of 10 asses, later replaced by the denarius in silver. Used starting from the semilibral reduction of the as, like the denarius it was marked "X" (ten). It is a very rare coin, with an example of 1107 g. preserved at the National Roman Museum.

The sestertius and quinarius were silver coins, actually introduced as fractions of the denarius rather than as multiples of the as.

Devaluation of the as in the Republican period

The value of the as progressively reduced over time, gradually acquiring the value of its fractions; the main phases of the as were:

• as libral: at its creation, with a weight equal to the Roman libra (327 g.);
• as semilibral: with 1/2 Roman pound in 286 BC. (163 g.);
• as sextantal: 1/6 of a pound in 268 BC. (54.5 g.);
• as uncial: 1 ounce (i.e. 1/12 of a pound) in 217 BC. (27.25 g.)
• as semi-uncial: 1/2 ounce in 89 BC. (13.625 g.).

As the as was reduced as a weight unit, it was no longer melted down, but minted by hammering: this already happened in the period of the semi-libral standard for coins of lower value, such as the ounce and the semi-ounce.

The use of bronze for the minting of Roman coins ended in 79 BC.

Imperial period

After the monetary reform of Augustus in 23 BC, the weight of the as was further reduced from the value of the Republican as (1/30 of a pound, equal to 10.91 g.) and was struck on pure red copper instead of bronze (10.90 g).

Given the Senate's responsibility for the minting of copper coins, these bore the initials "SC" on the back, which stands for "Senatus Consulto".

The as was the lowest value coin regularly produced during the Roman Empire and continued to be minted until the 3rd century AD, while the semis and quadrans were no longer produced after Marcus Aurelius.

Starting from the 3rd century AD. C., the name given to the Roman bronze coin (and to the as in particular) in the Greek-speaking eastern provinces was assarion (plural assaria).

Given the difficulty in finding information on the coins of the eastern provinces in the latter part of the empire and the differences existing from province to province, the methodology of classifying bronze coins on four levels has become widespread, according to the scale shown in the following table:

where the symbol "Æ" indicates aes. Subsequently this system was extended in the form Æxx, where the value xx indicates the diameter in millimeters of the coin considered.