appear of the third clafs of antiquity, or with an indented fquare, and a small figure in one of its fegments. Gold coins were used in the cities of Brettium, Tarentum, and throughout Magna Græcia: alfo in Panticapa in Thrace, and like wife in Cofa in that country; but not in Tufcany, as is commonly believed, though Neumann proves that they were ftruck by Brutus, and are unquef tionably as ancient as the Greek coins. The Thebans and Athenians probably coined the first gold after Philip had fet them the example, and when they were attempting to refift the projects of that enterprifing monarch. The Etolians probably coined their gold during the time of their greatest power, about a century after Philip, and when they were combating the power of Aratus and the Achæan league." There is (fays Mr Pinkerton) but one xeur of Thebes, much worn, in Dr Hunter's cabinet, and weighing but 59 grains; and perhaps not above two or three Xguess or gold didrachms of Athens in the world; one of which is alfo in the collection of Dr Hunter, and weighs 1324 grains. It appears to be more modern than the reign of Philip. That monarch having got poffeffion of the mines of Philippi in Thrace, improved them fo much, that they produced him annually above a thoufand talents of gold, or 2,880,000l. of our money. From this gold the firft coins named from the monarch Philippi were ftruck. They were marked with his portrait; and for many ages after were fo numerous, that they were common in the Roman empire; whence the name Philippi became at length common to gold, filver, and at laft even brafs coins of their fize. Even in the time of Philip gold was very scarce in Greece; but after the Phocians had plundered the temple of Delphos, this precious metal, which had been valued as gems, and confecrated only to the decoration of the temples of the gods, began to be known among the Greeks. The comparative values of gold and filver, however, feem to have been at that time very different from what they are now. Herodotus values gold at 13 times its weight in filver; Plato in his Hipparchus at 12; and even the low value of 10 to 1 feems to have been the ftated value in Greece, though in Rome the plenty of filver from the Spanish mines made the value of gold to be much higher; and there is no reafon to think that it was ever valued in that city at lefs than 12 times its weight in filver. The Philippus, xgue, gold piece, or ftater, is a didrachm, and is the most common of all the ancient coins. Mr Pinkerton is of opinion that it went for 20 filver drachms on its first appearance; but in later times for 25 Greek drachmæ or Roman denarii. There are proofs of the Philippi being didrachms, both from the writings of ancient authors and from numbers of the coins themselves, which remain to this day; and that the x, or principal gold coin of Greece, was of the fame weight, is alfo evident from ancient writings. It was anciently worth about 15s. but valuing gold now at the medium price of 41. per ounce, it is worth about 209. The mixer, or half the former coin, fcarcely occurs of the coinage of Philip and Alexander, though it does of Hiero 1. of Syracufe, and of king Pyrrhus. It VOL. XVI. PART I. paffed for ten filver drachms, and was valued only at 7s. 6d. though now worth 10s. There was another divifion of this kind worth about 58 There were befides fome leffer divifions of gold coins, which could not be worth above two drachms. These were coined in Cyrene; and there were befides feveral old gold coins of Afia Minor, the value of which is now unknown. Our author fuppofes that they were coined, not with relation to their weight as parts of the drachma, but merely to make them correfpond with fo many filver pieces as was neceffary. There are alfo larger coins than the xeur, the Aixgur of Alexander and Lyfimachus being double its value Some others are met with of Lyfimachus, Antiochus III. and fome of the Egyptian monarchs, weighing four times the xevo, and now worth about 41. fterling. Some weigh even more; but this our author fuppofes owing to the gold being less pure. In Rome, as well as in Greece, the money was at firft eftimated by weight; and the first metal coined by that people was copper, filver being long unknown in Rome; nor is it certainly known that any filver has ever been found in the Italian mines. In Rome the firft valuation of money was by the libra gravis aris, or pound of heavy brafs: and in the progrefs of their conquefts, the little filver and gold that came in their way was regulated by the fame ftandard, as appears from the ftory of Brennus. The weights made ufe of were the fame with those which continue to this day. The pound confifted of 12 ounces of 458 grains each; but the pound by which the money was weighed appears to have confifted only of 420 grains to the ounce, or to have contained in alt 5040 grains. This became the standard of cop. per; and when filver came to be coined, feven denarii went to the ounce as eight drachms did in Greece. Gold was regulated by the fcriptulum or fcrupulum, the third part of a denarius, and by the larger weights juft mentioned. The number 10 was at firft ufed by the Romans in counting their money; but finding afterwards that a smaller number was more convenient, they divided it into quarters; and as the quarter of 10 is 24, they for this reafon beftowed upon it the name of feftertius or "half the third;" to exprefs that it was two of any weights, meatures, &c. and half a third; whence the feftertius came at laft to be the grand eftimate of Roman money. The as being at firft the largeft, and indeed the only Roman coin, the word feftertius means feftertius as, or “two afses and an half.”- On the first coining of filver, the denarius of ten affes was ftruck in the moft common and convenient denary divifion of money, or that by tens; the feftertius being of courfe two affes and an half. But the denarius being afterwards eftimated at 16 affes, the name feftertius was ftill applied to a quarter of the denarius, though it now contained four affes. The term feftertius, was applied to all fums not exceeding 1000 feftertii, or L8:6:8; but for greater fums the mode of the feftertius was likewife altered, though not to exclude the former. Very large fums of money were estimated by the hundred weight of brafs; for the Romans were at first unacquainted with the talent. The hundred weight, weight, by way of eminence, was diftinguished by the name of pondus, and fefiertium pondus became a phrafe for two hundred weight and an half. Mr Pinkerton is of opinion, that we may value the as libralis of ancient Rome at about eight-pence English. Eftimating the as therefore at a pound weight, the feftertium pondus was equal to rooo feftertii, or L8:6:8; and by a coincidence which our author fuppofes to have been the effect of defign, as foon as the filver coinage appeared, the feflertium centum denariorum was always equal to L8:6:8 alfo. The word fefter tium itself, however, seems to have been unknown prior to the coinage of filver money at Rome: the pondera gravis aris being fufficient before that time for all the purposes of a state in which money was fo fcarce. But however this may be, the pondus or hundred weight of brafs was precifely worth 100 denarii, or a pound of filver. As the great feftertium was always valued at 1000 of the fmaller, or L8:6:8, we never find one feftertium mentioned in authors, but two, three, or more; ten thousand of them being equal to L. 8,333,333:6:8. Some coins are found which exceed the as libralis in weight; and thefe are fuppofed to be pricr to the time of Servius Tullius. Some of them are met with of 34 and of 53 Roman ounces; having upon one fide the figure of a bull rudely impressed, and upon the other the bones of a fish. They are most commonly found at Tudder, or Tudertum in Umbria; but they appear always broken at one end; fo that Mr Pinkerton is of opinion, that perhaps fome might be ftruck of the decuffis form, or weighing ten pounds. Thefe pieces, in cur author's opinion, make it evident, that the Romans derived their large brais coins from the Etrufcans and the neigh. bouring ftates: they are all caft in moulds; and the greater part of them appear much more an. cient than the Roman affes, even fuch as are of the greatest antiquity. Mr Pinkerton agrees with Sir Ifaac Newton às to the time that Servius Tullius reigned in Rome, which he fuppofes to be about 460 B. C. His coinage feems to have been confined to the as, or picce of brafs having the impreffion of Janus on the one fide and the prow of a ship on the other, because Janus arrived in Italy by fea. Varro, however, informs us, that the very firft coins of Tullius had the figure of a bull or other cattle upon them, like the Etrufcan coins, of which they were imitations. Thofe with the figure of Janus and the prow of a fhip upon them may be fuppofed first to have appeared about 400 B. C. but, in a fhort time, various fubdivifions of the as were coined. The fenis or half is commonly ftamped with the head of Jupiter laureated; the triens or third, having four cyphers, as being originally of four ounces weight, has the head of Minerva; the quadrans or quarter, marked with three cyphers, has the head of Hercules wrapt in the lion's fkin; the fextans or fixth, having only two cyphers, is marked with the head of Mercury with a cap and wings; while the uncia having only one cypher, is marked with the head of Rome. All thefe coins appear to have been caft in moulds, by a confiderable number at a time; and in the British museum there are four of them all united together as taken out of the mould in which perhaps dozens were caft together. In procefs of time, however, the fmaller divifions were truck instead of being caft; but the larger ftill continued to be caft until the as fell to two ounces. Even after this, time it was fill called libra, and accounted a pound of copper: though there were now larger denominations of it coined fuch as the biffas or double as: treffis and quadruffis of three and four affes; nay as far as decuffs or ten affes, marked X. Olivieri mentions one in his own cabinet weighing upwards of 25 ounces, and caft when the as was about three ounces weight. There is likewife in the Mufæum Etruf cum a decuffis of 40 Roman ounces, caft when the as was at four ounces. There was likewife a curious decuffis in the Jefuit's library at Rome, for which an English medallift offered 201.; but it was feized by the Pope along with every other thing belonging to the fociety. The as decreafed in weight at the following periods. About the year 300, B. C. it weighed 10 oz.-8 oz. about 290-6 oz, about 280-4 oz. about 270-3 oz. about 260--2 according to Pliny, about 250-1 according to the fame author, about 214-And about 175, he says that the as was reduced to half an ounce by the Papyrian law, at which it continued till the time of Pliny himself, and long after. After the Romans began to have an intercourse with Greece, a variety of elegant figures appear upon the parts of the as, though not on the as itfelf till after the time of Sylla. Towards the latter end of the republic alfo, dupondii, or double affes, were coined, together with the feftertii arei, which came in place of the quadruffes, when the denarius began to be reckoned at 16 affes; probably at the time the latter was reduced to half an ounce. In fome inftances it is to be observed, that the Romans accommodated their coins to the country where their army was ftationed; whence we have many coins marked as Roman, which have been coined in Magna Græcia and Sicily, and are evidently upon the Greek and not the Roman fcale. In the latter part of the republican times, alfo, the types begin to vary; so that we have a brass coin supposed to be firuck by Sextus Pompeius in Sicily, having upon it a double head of that warrior, reprefenting a Janus, Mr Pinkerton fuppofes it to have been a dupondius; which indeed appears to be the cafe from the double head. This coin is of copper, and ftill weighs an ounce, notwithstanding its antiquity. The largest imperial copper coin was the SESTERTIUS, a piece worth about two-pence of our money. No change took place in the Roman coinage from the time that the as fell to half an ounce to the days of Pliny: but Mr Pinkerton observes, that before the time of Julius Cæfar yellow brafs began to be ufed, and was always looked upon to be double the value of Cyprian or red copper. There are but few coins in large brafs immediately before Julius Cæfar, or even belonging to that emperor; but from the time of Auguftus downward, the large coins are all found of brafs, and not one of them copper. The largeft of what are called called the middle fize are all of yellow brafs; and the next fize, which is the as, and weighs half an ounce, is univerfaliy copper. What the ancients named orichalcum, or what we call brass, was always looked upon to be greatly fuperior in value to the as Cyprium. Procopius, fpeaking of a ftatue of Juftinian, tells us, that brafs inferior in colour to gold is almoft equal in value to filver. The mines of native brafs were very few in num ber, and were owing entirely to the fingular combination of copper and lapis calaminaris in the bowels of the earth, which very feldom occurs; and the ancients were far from being well ac quainted with the method of combining thefe two bodies artificially; fo that yellow brafs was always efteemed at double the value of copper; and hence, in the ancient coinages, the brafs and copper pieces were kept as diftinct as thofe of gold and filver. The feftertius underwent no change till the time of Alexander Severus, when it was diminished by one third of its weight. Trajanus Decius was the firft who coined double feftertii, or quinarii, of brafs: but from the time of Trebonianus Gallus to that of Gallienus, when the first brafs ceafes, the feftertins does not weigh above the third part of an ounce: the larger coins are accounted double feftertii; and after the time of Gallienus it totally vanishes. In the time of Valerian and Gallienus we find a new kind of coinage, mentioned by the name of denarii aris, or Philippi arei. Two fizes of denarii began to be used in the time of Caracalla, the larger of fix feftertii, or 24 affaria; the fmaller of four feftertii, or 16 affaria, as ufual. In the time of Pupienus, the latter was reduced to fuch a fmall fize as not to weigh more than 36 grains; though in Caracalla's time it weighed 56. After the time of Gordian III. the fmaller coin fell into difufe, as breeding confufion. The larger denarius of fix feftertii, though diminished at laft to the fize of the early denarius, ftill retained its value of fix feftertii, or 24 affaria. The Philippus areus came at length in place of the feftertius. It was alfo called denarius; from which we may learn, not only their fize, but that they were in value ten affaria, as the firft denarius. In the reign of Dio clefian, the place of the feftertius was fupplied by the follis, that emperor having reftored the filver coin to its purity, and likewife given this form to the copper; but it would feem that this reftora tion of the coinage only took place towards the end of his reign; whence we have but few of his filver coins, and fill fewer of the follis, though the denarii arei continue quite common down to the time of Conftantine. The follis of Dioclefian feems to have weighed above half an ounce; and Mr Pinkerton is of opinion, that Diocletian defigned this coin to fupply the place of the de harius æreus; which of courfe was worth ten ataria, and fix of them went to the filver denarius. From this time the affarium diminishes to the fize of 30 grains; and foon after the follis appeared, the denarius æreus was entirely dropped, the former having gradually fupplied its place. Some miats appear to have retained the ufe of the denarius longer than others; and in fome the change was preceded, and gradually brought in by wath ng the follis with filver or tin as the denarius had formerly been. Pieces of this kind occur in the times of Dioclefian, Maximian I. and II. and Conftantius I.; that is, for about ten years after the follis made its appearance. Some countries, however, retained the denarius æreus; others the follis; and fome had a medium betwixt the two, or the follis wathed in imitation of the denarius. Towards the end of the reign of Conftantine I. a new coinage was introduced throughout the whole empire. The follis coined by this prince was of half an ounce weight; 24 of them going to the milliarenfis, or larger filver coin. The word follis fignifies alfo a purfe, in which sente we fometimes find it mentioned in the Byzantine hiftory. The common follis of filver, when, it occurs by itself, means a purfe of 250 milliarenfes, as the feftertium was 250 denarii; and by a law of Conftantine I. every man paid to the ftate a follis or purfe according to his income. The method of counting by purfes continues in Turkey to this day. The dupondius was only half the value of the feftertius, or about one penny Sterling; and before the yellow brafs appeared it feems to have beeh ftruck upon copper, and double the fize of the as. There are fome of this coin, ftruck in the time of Julius Cæfar 'in yellow brafs, weighing half an ounce, with a head of Venus Victrix upon one fide; on the reverfe, a female figure, with ferpents at her feet; while others have a Victory on the reverfe, with Q. Oppius Pr. After the time of Auguftus, the dupondius was ftruck in yellow brafs; which Pliny tells us was alfo the cafe in his time. The word dupondiarius feems to have been ufed by Pliny, and adopted, not to exprefs that the coin was dupondius, but that it was of dupondiary value. Neither was the former word confined to fignify double weight, but was ufed alfo for double length or meafure, as in the inftance of dupondius pes, or two feet, &c. In the imperial times, therefore, dupondius was ufed, not to fignify a coin of double the weight of the as, but of double the value. It was one of the most common of the Roman coins; and feems to have been very common even in Conftantinople. The dupondius, though of the fame fize with the as, is commonly of finer workmanfhip, the metal being greatly fuperior in value. It continued to be of yellow brafs, as well as the feftertius, to the time of Gallienus; but the as is always of copper. The imperial as, or affarium, was worth only an halfpenny. At first it weighed half an ounce, and was always of copper till the time of Gallienus, when it was made of brafs, and weighed only the eight part of an ounce. From the time of Gallienus to that of Dioclefian, it continued to diminifh ftill more, the fize being then 20 to an ounce. This was the fame with the lepta, or smallest coins but the ou, which weighed only ten grains. The parts of the as occur but feldom; which may indeed be well expected, confidering the low value of it; though there ftill occur fome of thofe called femis, triens, quadrans, fextans, and uncia, coined in the times of Nero and Domitian. There is no fmall brafs from the time of Pertinax to that of Gallienus, excepting that of Trajanus Decius; but in the time of Gallienus it becomes Ꮓ ? extremely extremely common; and the coins of fmall brafs, as well as the larger, are always marked S. C.; fuch as want it univerfally being accounted forgeries, and were plated with filver, though the plating be now worn off. The fmall pieces ftruck for flaves during the time of the Saturnalia must also be dif. tinguished from the parts of the as. The S. C., upon these most probably fignifies Saturni Confulto, and were ftruck in ridicule of the true coins, as the flaves on that occafion had every privilege of irony. The feftertius diminishes from Pertinax to Gallienus fo faft, that no parts of the as are ftruck, itfelf being fo fmall. Trajanus Decius, indeed, coined fome fmall pieces, which went for the femis of the time. The fmall brafs coins under Gallienus were called affaria, fixty of which went to the filver denarius. They are about the fize of the denarius, and fome of them occur, of the coinage of Gallus and his family, of half that fize, which appear to have been ftruck during the latter part of his reign, when the affarium was diminished to a ftill fmaller fize. It is probable, however, that fome of these very small coins had been ftruck in all ages of the empire, in order to fcatter among the people on folemn occafions. Mr Pinkerton is of opinion that they are the mif filia, though moft other medallifts think that they were medallions. "But if fo (fays our author), they were certainly called misfilia a non mittendo; for it would be odd if fine medaliions were fcat tered among the mob. It is a common custom juft now to strike counters to fcatter among the populace on fuch occafions, while medals are given to peers of the kingdom; and we may very justly reafon from analogy on this occafion." The affarion or lepton of the Conftantinopolitan empire was one of the fmalleft coins known in antiquity, weighing no more than 20 grains; and the noumia were the very fmaileft which have reached our times, being only one half of the former. By reafon of their extreme fmallness, they are very scarce; but Mr Pinkerton informs us, that he has in his poffeffion a fine one of Theodofius II. which has on it the emperor's head in profile, Theodofius P. F. AV.; on the reverse a wreath, having in the centre vOT. XX.: MULT. The principal coin of the lower empire was the follis, which was divided into an half and a quar. ter, named oλ and TergaЯTO; the latter of which is shown by Du Cange to have been a fmall brafs coin, as the other is supposed to have been by Mr Pinkerton. Befides thefe, the fullis was divided into 8 oboli, 16 affaria or lepta, and 32 noumia, though in common computation it contained 40 of thefe lat. This coin, notwithstand ing fo many divifions, was of no more value than an halfpenny. Mr Pinkerton controverts an opinion, common among medallifts, that the largest brafs coin or foliis of the lower empire had 40 small coins, expreffed by the letter M upon it; the next had 30, exprefied by the letter a; the half by the letter K; and the quarter marked I, which contained only 10. Mr Pinkerton informs us, that he has three coins of Anaftafius, all marked M in large: one of them weighs more than half an ounce; the fecond 40 grains lefs; and the third 160 grains, or one 3d of an ounce; but the fize is so very un equal, that the laft, which is very thick, does not appear above half the fize of the firft. There are pieces of Juftinian which weigh a whole ounce; but the fize of copper was increased as the filver became scarcer; and the value of the coinage cannot be deduced from the weight of the coins, as it is plain that our own coinage is not of half the value with regard to the metal. A great number of medallions were ftruck by Conftantius II. but there is no other copper larger than the half ounce, excepting that of Anaftafius, when the follis began to be ftruck larger. All medallists allow the others to be medallions. The metal employed in these very small coins, though at firft of brafs, was always a base and refufe kind; but copper is generally made use of in the parts of the as from the earliest times to the lateft; and if brafs be fometimes employed, it is never fuch as appears in the seftertii and dupondiarii, which is very fine and beautiful, but only the refufe. "Yellow brass of the right fort (says Mr Pinkerton) seems totally to have ceased in the Roman coinage with the feftertius, under Gallienus, though a few small coins of very bad metal appear under that hue as late as Julian II." Silver began to be coined in Rome fo late as A. U. C. 485, or A. A. C. 266. The first filver denarii coined at Rome, are fup. pofed by our author to have been thofe which are impressed with the ROMA; and he inclines to account thofe the most ancient which have a double female head on the one fide, and on the reverse Jupiter in a car, with victory holding the reins, and the word RoMA indented in a rude and fingular manner. The double female head feems to denote Rome, in imitation of the Janus then upon the as. There are 15 of thefe in the cabinet of Dr Hunter; one of the largest weighs 984 grains; and the reft, which feem to be of greateft antiquity, are of various weights betwixt that and 84; the smaller and more modern weigh 58 or 59 grains; but Mr Pinkerton is of opinion, that the large ones are of the very firft Roman coinage, and ftruck during that interval of time betwixt the coinage of the firft filver denarius and the as of two ounces. He takes the indentation of the word ROMA to be a mark of great antiquity; fuch a mode being scarcely known anywhere elfe, except in Caulonia, Crotona, and other towns of Italy; all of them allowed to be ftruck at least 400 B. C. As thefe large coins are not double denarii, they must have been struck prior to the fmail ones; and Newmann has given an account of one of them recoined by Trajan, in which the indentation of ROMA is carefully preferved. The firft denarius was in value 10 affes, when the as weighed three ounces; and allowing 90 grains at a medium for one of these large denarii, the proportion of copper to filver must have been as 1 to 160; but when the as fell to one ounce, the proportion was as 1 to 80; when it fell to half an ounce, so that 16 affes went to the denarius, the proportion was as 1 to 64. at which it remained. Copper with us, in coinage, is to filver as 1 to 40; but in actual value as I to 72. 1 At At Rome the denarius was worth 8d.; the quinarius 4d.; and the feftertius, whether filver or gold, id. The denarius is the coin from which our penny is derived, and was the chief filver coin in Rome for 600 years. According to Celfus, 7 denarii went to the Roman ounce, which in metals did not exceed 430 grains; but as all the denarii hitherto met with weigh at a medium only 60 grains, this would seem to make the Roman ounce only 420 grains; though perhaps this deficiency may be accounted for from the un avoidable waste of metal even in the best preserved of these coins. According to this proportion, the Roman pound contained 84 denarii; but in tale there was a very confiderable excefs; for no fewer than 100 denarii went to the Roman pound. The Greek ounce appears to have been confider ably larger than that of Rome, containing about $28 grains; yet notwithstanding this apparently great odds, the difference in the coins was fo fmall, that the Greek money went current in Rome, and the Roman in Greece. The denarius at first went for 10 affes, and was marked X; it was afterwards raised to 16; which Mr Pinkerton supposes to have been about 175 B. C. Some are met with bearing the number XVI. nay, with every number up to CCCCLXXVI. Thele large numbers are supposed to have been mint-marks of fome kind or other. After being raised to 16 affes, it continued at the fame value till the time of Gallienus; fo that, till that time, we are to look upon its conflituent parts to be 16 affes or affaria, eight dupondii, four brass feftertii, and two filver quinarii. Under the emperor Severus, however, or his fucceffor Caracalla, denari were ftruck of two fizes, one of them a third heavier than the common; which we must of confequence fuppofe to have borne a third more value. This large piece obtained the name of argenteus, and argenteus Philippus, or the "filver Philip;" the name of Philip having become common to almost every coin. The common denarii now began to be termed minuti and argentei Philippi minutuli, &c. to express their being mailer than the reft. Some have imagined that the large denarii were of the fame value with the fmall, only of worse metal; but Mr Pinkerton obferves, that among the few which have any difference of metal, the fmalieft are always the worlt. The first mention of the minuti is in the time of Alexander Severus, who reduced the price of pork from eight minuti at Rome to two and to one. The minutus argenteus of that age was about 40 grains; and, from the badness of the metal, was not worth above 4d. of our money. Thus the price of meat was by this prince reduced first to 8d, and then to 4d. According to Zozimus and other writers, the purity of the Roman coin was restored by Aurelian: but Mr Pinkerton controverts this opinion; thinking it more probable that he only made the attempt without fuccefs, or that his reformation might be entirely confined to gold, on which there is an evident change after the time of this emperor. His fucceffor Tacitus is faid to have allowed no brass to be mixed with filver on any account; yet the few coins of this emperor are very much alloyed. We are certain, however, that the emperor Dioclefian reftored the filver to its ancient purity; the denarii ftruck in his reign being very small indeed, but of as fine filver as the most ancient coins of the empire. After Gordian III. the small denarius entirely vanished, while the large one was so much diminished, that it refembled the minutus, or small one of Caracalla, in fize. Gallienus introduced the denarii arei instead of the feftertii. The argenteus, though reduced more than one third in fize, contained fix denarii ærei, the old ftandard of feftertii. According to the writers of this period, and some time afterwards, the denarius argenteus contained 60 affaria; whence it follows, that each denarius æreus had 10; and from this it probably had its name. The alfaria are of the fize of the argentei already mentioned; and show the copper to have retained nearly its old proportion of value to the filver, viz. to 60. A larger filver coin was introduced by Conftan. tine I. who accommodated the new money to the pound of gold in such a manner, that 1000 of the former in tale were equal to the latter in value; so that this new piece from thence obtained the hame of the milliarenfis, or "thousander." Its weight, at a medium, is 70 grains, or 70 to the pound of filver; but Mr Pinkerton is of opinion, that it might have contained 72 grains, of which two have now perished by the foftnefs of the filver; that the pound contained 72; or that two of the number might be allowed for coinage, while the alloy alone would pay for coining gold. The code fays, that 60 went to the pound; but the numbers of this are quite corrupt. The milliarenfis was worth about a shilling fterling. The argentei denarii, however, were ftill the most common currency; and having been originally rated at the 100 to the pound of filver in tale, they from hence began to be called centenionales, or hundreders." Those of Constantine I. and II. Conftans, and Conftantius, weigh from 50 grains down to 40; thofe of Julian and Jovian, from 40 to 30; and of the fucceeding emperors from that time to Juftinian, from 30 to 20. Under Heraclius they ceafed entirely; and from Juftinian to their total abolition, had been brought down from 15 to 10 grains. A like decrease of weight took place in the milliarentis; thofe of Conítantine and Conftans being above 70 grains in weight; those of Arcadius not above 60; and the mil. liarenfis of Juftinian not more than 30 grains; but, from the weight of those in Dr Hunter's cabinet, Mr Pinkerton deduces the medium to have been exactly 70 grains. Thefe coins were also called majorina. 66 The maller fiver coins of Rome were, 1. The quinarius, at first called victoriatus, from the image of Victory on its reverie; and which it continued to bear from first to laft. Its onginal value was five affes, but it was afterwards railed to eight, when the value of the denarius increased to 16. According to Pliny, it was first coined in confe. quence of the lex Clodia, about the 525th year of Rome. Some are of opinion, that it was called xiga under the Conftantinopolitan empire, becaufe it was worth a negativ of gold, 144 of which went to the ounce; but this is denied by Mr Pinkerton, because, at the time that the word Xegation first appears in history, the denarius did not |