Denarius Debasement of the coin's silver content continued after Nero. Later Roman emperors reduced its content to 3 grams around the late 3rd century. The value at its introduction was 10 asses, giving the denarius its name, which translates as "containing ten". In about 141 BC, it was re-tariffed at 16 asses, to reflect the decrease in weight of the as. The denarius continued to be the main coin of the Roman Empire until it was replaced by the antoninianus in the middle of the 3rd century. The coin was last issued, in bronze, under Aurelian between AD 270 and 275,
Pattern coin Pattern coin A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, produced for the purpose of evaluating a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike, to proof standard or piedforts. They are collected or studied by many coin collectors because of their historical importance. A high number of the world's most valuable coins are patterns, and nearly a quarter of the pieces listed in "100 Greatest US Coins" are pattern coins. The first English coin that can be identified with certainty is a groat, originally worth fourpence. This piece, an example of which was illustrated