Coin (reverse), Denarius, of Domitian

This silver coin was minted in Rome by the emperor Domitian in 93 or 94 AD. It is a type called a denarius, the most common Roman silver coin. This picture shows the reverse of the coin.

The reverse depicts Minerva, goddess of wisdom and war, standing on the prow of a ship, holding a shield, with an owl at her feet. The inscription 'IMP XXII COS XVI CENS P P P' continues the list of titles held by Domitian, begun on the obverse of the coin.

The Romans needed coins for one main purpose - to pay the salaries of her huge military force. Domitian raised the yearly pay of soldiers during his reign from 9 to 12 aurei (equivalent to 300 denarii).

The Roman currency system included the denarius (plural: denarii), a small silver coin, as the most common coin in circulation. Classical historians regularly say that in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire the daily wage for a laborer was one denarius. The denarius was first struck in 211 BC during the Roman Republic, valued at 10 asses, giving the denarius its name which translates to "containing ten". In 118 BC it was re-tariffed at 16 asses, to reflect the decrease in size of the As. The As was a bronze or copper coin. The denarius continued to be the main coin of the empire until it was replaced by the antoninianus in the middle of the 3rd century AD.

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