Currency history

Roman as–denarius–sestertius accounting

Roman as–denarius–sestertius accounting: a historical unit of account.

Dates in use: Introduction and ending not established
Ancestry branch: See family connections

Its place in the family

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Parents 1

Egyptian silver drachma accounting Evidence period: AD 296–AD 351 · Qualified
Later contribution or absorption

Roman as–denarius accounting

This currency

Children 1

Roman solidus–nomisma Evidence period: AD 274–AD 375 · Qualified

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Roman as–denarius accounting

Earlier ancestry is not established here.

1 later contribution joined this currency. See those connections →

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The story

Egypt’s integration into denarius accounting can be represented as a qualified local absorption beginning in 296, with older expressions continuing into the fourth century. It is not the origin of Roman currency. Local integration in Egypt; the date range combines reform and later accounting attestation, not a dated one-off conversion. The old scale continued; no claim that all Greek currencies generated Rome’s currency. ^[1]

The 301 Maximum Prices Edict expresses statutory price ceilings in denarii; its Athenian copy preserves portions covering footwear and leather goods. ^[2]

P.Oxy.12.1431, assigned to early 351, explicitly equates 225 myriads of denarii with 1, 500 talents in a rug expenditure. ^[3]

Turning points

Fifth century BC; retrospective evidence

Account-unit observation

Bernard considers reports of fifth-century BC bronze/as fines and Twelve Tables reckoning credible evidence of early account use. Add a qualified retrospective fifth-century witness, not a surviving contemporary ledger, standardized bronze object or founding date. ^[4]

70 BC (literary witness)

Account-unit observation

Cicero's In Verrem 2.3.214–215 and 225 (70 BC) reports wheat prices and commutation demands in denarii. The Latin explicitly names the unit. This is a dated literary witness to account denomination, not an original ledger or a currency founding date; the reported transactions precede the text. ^[5]

70 BC (literary witness)

Account-unit observation

In Verrem 2.1.36–37 (70 BC) presents submitted receipts, expenditure and a remaining balance in sesterces, with HS and nummos in the Latin. It supplies literary evidence of accounting, not a surviving ledger. Exact copied totals and the earlier transaction date are not used here. ^[6]

Account-unit observation

On 8 January 57 AD, WT44 records Tibullus owing Gratus 105 denarii for merchandise sold and delivered, repayable to him or his assignee. This is an explicit contractual account denomination. ^[7]

301

Account-unit observation

The 301 monetary dossier from Aphrodisias values the argenteus at 100 denarii and the nummus at 25, and regulates settlement of public and private debts across the September revaluation. New coin denominations therefore did not abolish denarius accounting. ^[8]

Around the turn of the fourth/fifth century

Account-unit observation

P.Vrat.inv.2 lists a contribution of 3, 600 myriads of denarii beside contributions in solidi. Its proposed date is around the turn of the fourth and fifth centuries. This records parallel reckoning, not termination of the older account. ^[9]

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Cite this page

“Roman as–denarius–sestertius accounting.” The Family Tree of Money. © Field Technologies, Inc. Reader edition 2026-10-13; research dataset v44. https://familytreeofmoney.org/currency/CUR-V25-ROMAN-DENARIUS.html

Editorial evidence supplement · Download dataset v44