Siliqua: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Siliqua Jovianus.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Jovian]] siliqua, ca [[363]].]] |
[[Image:Siliqua Jovianus.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Jovian]] siliqua, ca [[363]].]] |
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The '''siliqua''' is the modern name given to small, thin, Roman silver coins produced from 4th century |
The '''siliqua''' is the modern name given to small, thin, Roman silver coins produced from 4th century and later. |
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The term siliqua comes from the ''siliqua graeca'', the seed of the [[carob]] tree, which in the [[Ancient Roman weights and measures|Roman weight system]] is equivalent to 1/6 of a scruple (1/1728 of a [[Roman pound]] or about 0.19 [[gram]]). The term has been applied to the various silver coins on the premise that the coins represented that were valued at 1/24 of the gold [[solidus (coin)|solidus]] (which weighed 1/72nd of a Roman pound) and therefore represented a siliqua of gold in value. Since gold was worth about 14 times as much as silver in ancient Rome, such a silver coin would have a theoretical [[weight]] of 2.7 grams. There is little historical evidence to support this. This has not prevented the term from being applied to silver coins issued by [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]], which initially weighed 3.4 grams, or the later silver coin of [[Constantius II]], which weighed about 2.2 grams, and is sometimes called a "light" or "reduced" siliqua to differentiate it. |
The term siliqua comes from the ''siliqua graeca'', the seed of the [[carob]] tree, which in the [[Ancient Roman weights and measures|Roman weight system]] is equivalent to 1/6 of a scruple (1/1728 of a [[Roman pound]] or about 0.19 [[gram]]). The term has been applied to the various silver coins on the premise that the coins represented that were valued at 1/24 of the gold [[solidus (coin)|solidus]] (which weighed 1/72nd of a Roman pound) and therefore represented a siliqua of gold in value. Since gold was worth about 14 times as much as silver in ancient Rome, such a silver coin would have a theoretical [[weight]] of 2.7 grams. There is little historical evidence to support this. This has not prevented the term from being applied to silver coins issued by [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]], which initially weighed 3.4 grams, or the later silver coin of [[Constantius II]], which weighed about 2.2 grams, and is sometimes called a "light" or "reduced" siliqua to differentiate it. |
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The term is one of convenience as no name for these coins is indicated by contemporary sources. Thin silver coins to the 7th century |
The term is one of convenience as no name for these coins is indicated by contemporary sources. Thin silver coins to the 7th century which weigh about 2 to 3 grams are known as siliqua by numismatic convention. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 18:31, 11 May 2006
- For the mobile phone, see Motorola Siliqua
The siliqua is the modern name given to small, thin, Roman silver coins produced from 4th century and later.
The term siliqua comes from the siliqua graeca, the seed of the carob tree, which in the Roman weight system is equivalent to 1/6 of a scruple (1/1728 of a Roman pound or about 0.19 gram). The term has been applied to the various silver coins on the premise that the coins represented that were valued at 1/24 of the gold solidus (which weighed 1/72nd of a Roman pound) and therefore represented a siliqua of gold in value. Since gold was worth about 14 times as much as silver in ancient Rome, such a silver coin would have a theoretical weight of 2.7 grams. There is little historical evidence to support this. This has not prevented the term from being applied to silver coins issued by Constantine, which initially weighed 3.4 grams, or the later silver coin of Constantius II, which weighed about 2.2 grams, and is sometimes called a "light" or "reduced" siliqua to differentiate it.
The term is one of convenience as no name for these coins is indicated by contemporary sources. Thin silver coins to the 7th century which weigh about 2 to 3 grams are known as siliqua by numismatic convention.