Denarius

In the Roman currency system, the dēnārius ( pronunciation: /deː.ˈnaː.rɪ.ʊs/) ; plural: dēnāriī (pronunciation: /deː.ˈnaː.rɪ.iː/) was a small silver coin first minted about 211 BC during the Second Punic War. It became the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly debased in weight and silver content until its replacement by the double denarius, called the antoninianus, early in the 3rd century AD. The word dēnārius is derived from the Latin dēnī "containing ten", as its value was 10 assēs, although in the middle of the 2nd century BC it was recalibrated so that it was now worth sixteen assēs or four sēstertiī. It is the origin of several modern words such as the currency name dinar; it is also the origin for the common noun for money in Italian denaro, in Portuguese dinheiro and in Spanish dinero. Its symbol is ...
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