Romans

Rome was not the first great civilization to mint coins, in fact the Greeks were way ahead of them and Roman currency was slow in developing. Still, as with so many aspects of human civilization, the Romans were instrumental in the development of money and its widespread use. Roman coins were a means for tying together the different parts of the empire and it made the "locals" dependant on the empire as a guarantee of individual wealth.

Roman coins also were important for some very non-monetary reasons. The coins celebrated victories of the army and depicted the rulers of the time. It was possible to tell a lot about who was in charge by looking at the coins. Roman money, in effect, became a form of spreading the news.

Moneta

Roman influence on money can be seen by the mere fact that the word "money" was derived from Moneta, the Roman goddess of warning. This dates back to 390 BCE when the Gauls raided the capital where the city's money reserves were stored. Defenders of the city were alerted to the attack by the cackling of geese. This warning saved the money and grateful Romans erected a monument to Moneta. From that she has become associated with money.

The earliest forms of Roman coins were bronze ingots that weighed approximately five pounds and had to be transported in heavy wagons. Later, money was made of silver and gold. The Romans had to mass produce their money and they established mints where the molten metal was poured into cast forms. It is said about 20,000 coins could be minted from each casting. In many ways, the Roman system of coinage was the precursor of modern mints.

Importance

Today the ancient Roman coins are important for archeologists because they provide a great deal of information about the sites where they are found. Sites can be dated by the coins found and researchers are able to tell who the emperor was at the time.

They also can assess the rate of inflation and the cost of goods. By following the locations of the Roman coins, they also can tell where the Legions went and where Romans settled.