Sestertius Sestertius The sestertius (plural sestertii), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The name "sestertius" means "two and one half", referring to its nominal value of two and a half "asses" (a bronze Roman coin, singular "as"), a value that was useful for commerce because it was one quarter of a denarius, a coin worth ten "asses". The name is derived from "semis", "half" and "tertius", "third", in which "third" refers to the
Nickel (Canadian coin) Nickel (Canadian coin) The Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a coin worth five cents or one-twentieth of a Canadian dollar. It was patterned on the corresponding coin in the neighbouring United States. It became the smallest-valued coin in the currency upon the discontinuation of the penny in 2013. Due to inflation, the purchasing power of the nickel continues to drop and currently the coin represents less than 0.5% of the country's lowest minimum hourly wage. The denomination (i.e., the Canadian five-cent piece) had been introduced in 1858 as a small, thin sterling silver coin, that was colloquially