Aes grave is a term in numismatics indicating bronze cast coins used in central Italy during the 4th and 5th centuries BC, whose value was generally indicated by signs: I for the as, S for semis

Semis

The semis was small Roman bronze coin that was valued at half an as. During the Roman Republic, the semis was distinguished by an 'S' or 6 dots...

 and pellets for unciae

Uncia (coin)

The uncia was a Roman unit of length and of weight .-Republican coin:...

. Standard weights for the as were 272, 327, or 341 grams, depending upon the issuing authority.

The main Roman cast coins had these marks and images:

Image	| value	mark
Ianus Janus (mythology) In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past...	As As (coin) The , also assarius was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.- Republican era coinage :...	I
Iupiter Jupiter (mythology) In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....	Semis Semis The semis was small Roman bronze coin that was valued at half an as. During the Roman Republic, the semis was distinguished by an 'S' or 6 dots...	S
Minerva Minerva Minerva was the Roman goddess whom Romans from the 2nd century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic...	Triens Triens The triens was an Ancient Roman bronze coin produced during the Roman Republic valued at one-third of an as . The most common design for the triens was the bust of Minerva and four pellets on the obverse and the prow of a galley on the reverse. It was not a common denomination and was last struck...	four pellets
Hercules Hercules Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...	Quadrans Quadrans The quadrans was a low-value Roman bronze coin worth one quarter of an as. The quadrans was issued from the beginning of cast bronze coins during the Roman Republic with three pellets representing three unciae as a mark of value...	three pellets
Mercury Mercury (mythology) Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx , mercari , and merces...	Sextans Sextans (coin) The sextans was an Ancient Roman bronze coin produced during the Roman Republic valued at one-sixth of an as . The most common design for the sextans was the bust of Mercury and two pellets on the obverse and the prow of a galley on the reverse...	two pellets
Bellona or Roma	Uncia Uncia (coin) The uncia was a Roman unit of length and of weight .-Republican coin:...	one pellet

Issuing cities

Main series were from Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Ariminum (Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

), Iguvium (Gubbio

Gubbio

Gubbio is a town and comune in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia . It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. See also Mount Ingino Christmas Tree.-History:...

), Tuder (Todi

Todi

Todi is a town and comune of the province of Perugia in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.In the 1990s, Richard S...

), Ausculum (Ascoli Piceno

Ascoli Piceno

Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is c. 51,400.-Geography:...

), Firmum (Fermo

Fermo

Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....

), Hatria - Hadria (Atri

Atri, Italy

Atri is a comune in the Province of Teramo in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It has a population of over 11,500...

), Luceria (Lucera

Lucera

Lucera is a town and comune in the Province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southern Italy.-Ancient era and early Middle Ages :Lucera is an ancient city founded in Daunia, the centre of Dauni territory . Archeological excavations show the presence of a bronze age village inside the city boundaries...

), and Latins

Latins

"Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"...

. Other series have unknown provenance.

Further reading

• Haeberlin, Ernst: Aes Grave, Das Schwergeld Roms und Mittelitaliens einschließlich der ihm vorausgehenden Rohbronzewährung, Halle 1910.
• Head, Barclay V.: Historia Nummorum, a Manual of Greek Numismatic, London, 1911².
• Sear, David: "Roman Coins and Their Values," Volume I, Spink.
• Sydenham, Edward A.: Aes Grave A Study of the Cast Coinages of Rome and Central Italy. London, Spink, 1926.
• Thurlow-Vecchi (1979). Italian Cast Coinage, Italian Aes Grave by Bradbury K. Thurlow and Italian Aes Rude, Signatum and the Aes Grave of Sicily by Italo G. Vecchi, printed together by V.C. Vecchi & Sons. ISBN 0-9506836-0-4.
• Zander H. Klawans: Reading and Dating Roman Imperial Coins, Racine, Wisconsin 1959.

External links

• Digital Historia Nummorum
• Cast Greek & Roman Coins
• The Aes Grave of Central Italy by J. G. Milne