Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

NUMMUS. NUMMUS. 813
of manufacture the new coins were found to le -a Greek money il general, and with the systems of
little too light; and as Solon's coinage furnished particular states, which cannot be comprised within
the standard for all subsequent ones, the error was the limits of this article, but which are fully treated
retaiied; and that, in fixing upon one-fourth as the of in the works referred to at the end of it. The
amount of the reduction, Solon was guided by the details of the minting of the money and the laws
wish of assimilating the Attic system to the Eubo-c, affecting it will be found under MONETA.
which, according to this view, would be different ii. Hlistory of lonzaz and Italian M1oney. - Tile
from the old Attic. A more complete investigation earliest coinage at Rome was of copper. Its hisof the subject has, however, convinced that dis- tory has been already given under As.
tinguished scholar that he was mistaken in sup- Silver was not coined at Rome till B. C. 269, five
posing the Euboic standard to be distinct from the years before the first Punic war (Plin. 11. N. xxxiii.
old Attic, and that the triue reason oJ'f the precise 3. s. 13); but the Roman coinage of silver never
amsount of debasemzent adopted by Solon teas in order appears to have been so free from baser metal as the
to bring isis new system into a simple definite ratio, best Athenian coinage. Under the Emperor Galnaumely 3: 5 to the Aeginetan, which the Pheidonian lienus, the coinage was so much debased that it
institutions had established throughout the greater contained * silver and ~ alloy. In the time of the
part of Greece. (For the full development of the republic the impression on silver coins was usually,
argument, see Bbckh, Metroloyisclhe Untersuchungeii, on the obverse, the head of Rome with a helmet,
c. ix., and for the denominations and values of the the Dioscuri, or the head of Jupiter; and on the
Attic silver money, see DRAcsrAIA). reverse, carriages drawn by two or four animals
It was the boast of the Athenians that their (biqae, quadrigae), whence they were called respeccoinage was finer thaml all other money in Greece, tively bijyati and qunadrigati, so. nus17ni. The prinand Xenophon says that they exchanged it with cipal silver coins among the Romans were the
profit in any market (Aristoph. Ran. 732; Xen. denarius and sestertius. [DEINARIUS, SEsTERfect. iii. 2): there is, however, a distinction to be TiUS.] Respecting the Roman gold money, see
made in this respect between the Attic coins of AunRuM.
different ages, which are easily distinguished by Among the interesting matters which are here
their form and workmanship. The most ancient passed over for want of space, and as not of great
are very thick and extremely rude. The second importance for the ordinary classical student, are
kind, which appear to belong to the age of Pericles the fuller discussion of the early systems of the
and Xenophon, are also of a thick form, but not so other states of Italy besides Rome, and the descrip.
clumsy in appearance. The third, which belong to tion of the coins of the later empire. Onl the fora later period, are broad and thin. Most of the imer subject, the reader is referred to Miiller's
extant specimens are of very fine silver. Some Etrusker, and Abekenl's 1Mittelitalien, on the latter
writers have supposed that they are quite free to Eckhel.
from baser metal; but the experiments which have iii. Connection of tihe Greek and Ronman Systenms
been made show that the finest possess a small in Sicily and Lower Italy. - For the reasons just
quantity of alloy. Mr. Hussey found upon trial assigned, some very brief remarks must suffice
(Ancient TVeigyts and MIoney, p. 45), that the most for this part of the subject, though it is one of
ancient Athenian coins contained about 18 of the the most interesting in the whole range of numisweight alloy, the second kind about -J-, and the matics. It is also, however, one of the most
more modern about f; tile last of which is nearly difficult, and its full discussion would require a
the same alloy as ill our own silver coin. separate work of no small dimensions. We find
The purity and full standard of the Attic silver in Sicily anid Lower Italy all the three chief sysmoney, mlld the commercial character of the people, tems which prevailed in Greece, and also the
will account easily for its wide diffusion throughout Italian system, not kept distinct, but brought into
the Grecian states. It was adopted at an early connection; besides a system which may be called
period by Corinth and her colonies; and thus was specifically Sikelian, as it is not found elseintroduced into Sicily and Italy, where we find it, where, and besides also the Carthaginian system.
not only in the coins of Rhegium and'arentum, but Of the three systems imported from Greece, the
evenin those of Populonia; but in mostofthesecases, Aeginetan was naturally brought by the coloit existed side by side with the Aeginetamn stand- nists from Corinth and Rhodes, who were the
ard. It is also found in the later coins of Euboea chief Dorian settlers in Sicily; the Eubo-ic was
and of Crete, and in those of Thasos and Acan- similarly introduced by the Chalcidian colonists%
thus. It is probable that it prevailed extensively and also from Corinth; and the Attic was imin the Ionian islands and cities of the Aegean Sea, ported through comumerce, both directly and by
but there are great difficulties connected with the way of Corinth. The Italian is supposed by
coins of many of these states, and some of themo Bckh to hlave been introduced by the commercial
(Chios, for example) seem to have had standards activity of the Etruscans at a very early period.
altogether distinct and peculiar. The Attic standard Undoubted evidence of the existence of the last
prevailed in Western Greece. The Thessalian system is furnished by the very words Xg'rpa and
confederacy had, at a late period, coins on the otyrcia, which it is impossible to explain otherwise
Attic scale; and the money of some of the barba- than as being the Italian librae and uncia. It'is
rian nations of Eastern Europe appears to belong important to observe that we have here a mixture,
to the samne standard. It also formed the basis of not only of different standards of weight and
the later Macedonian coinage, having been adopted money, but also of different systems of arithmetical
by Philip for gold [Avuiuaos STATER], and by computation, the mixed decimal anld duodecimal
Alexander for silver. It was followed likewise system of the Greeks coming into collision with
by the Seleucidae in Syria, and by Philetaerus in the purely duodecimal system of the Italians.
T'ergamus. In adapting these systemns to one another, it
There are Inany other points connected with would seem that the pouind of the Italian system