As (Roman coin) as, the (2), (2), . After the as had been issued as a cast coin for about seventy years, and its weight had been reduced in several stages, a as was introduced (meaning that it weighed one-sixth of a pound). At about the same time a silver coin, the denarius, was also introduced. Earlier Roman silver coins had been struck on the Greek weight standards that facilitated their use in southern Italy and across the Adriatic, but all Roman coins were now on a Roman weight standard. The denarius, or 'tenner', was at first tariffed at ten asses, but in
Silver coin or in the keel of a ship as a good luck charm. This tradition probably originated with the Romans. The tradition continues in modern times, for example, officers of USS "New Orleans" placed 33 coins heads up under her foremast and mainmast before she was launched in 1933 and USS "Higgins", commissioned in 1999, had 11 coins specially selected for her mast stepping. Silver coin Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used