27

Dissertations on Coins, Weights, &c.

Upon the Review os the Whole, it may be observed,

i fl. That the ancient Consular Denarius was about as fineas our Standard, and probably continued in that State till itwas adulterated by Livius Drusus . This happen'd A. U. C.663. Silver was first coin’d at Rome , A. U. C. 4.85, as weare insorm’d by Pliny , Edit. Hard. Fol. Pom. ii. p. 610 ;so that there was a Run of good Silver 178 Years. Afterthe Debasement by Drusus , the Senate seem to have restoredthe Money, at least to its former Purity, in which State itprobably continued for some time : I say at least to itsformer Purity ; for thole of the most antient Consular Coins,which were such as had the * Roma alata upon them in myCollection, do not come so near our Standard as Jupiter ,which is a Nummus Serr at us, and was probably struck aboutthis time ; for Marius Gratidianus is supposed to have beenthe Inventor os the Nummi Serraii , which aster the Fine-ness of the Coin was restored, was designed to prevent Coun-terfeits. The Design had its Effect for seme time ; but thefalse Coiners afterwards made a Shift to imitate them; so thatthey were forced to have Recourse to making Holes in them,as was practised in England in our Time. Vide Rink, p. 65.However, Marius Gratidianus grew extremely popular by hisInvention, which yet did not secure him from being barba-rousty butcher’d by Sylla.

The old Consular Denarius, as I said before, falls some-thing short of our Standard, but yet comes so near it, thatwhen it is of its full Weight, 62 Grains Troy , it will be about8 d. of our Coin.

As to the Nummi Serrati , their Value was so well known,that even the Germans were not ignorant of it: Germanipecuniam probant vet er em & diu not am, Serratos , Bigatosque.

E 2 Vide

* Vide Rink, p. 5, 6.