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The dupondius (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 two-pounder) was a brass
Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
 coin
Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a Disk , and most often issued by a government....
 used during the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 and Roman Republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 valued at 2 asses
As (coin)

The was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, named after the homonymous weight unit , but not immune to weight depreciation....
 (1/2 of a sestertius
Sestertius

The sestertius, or sesterce, was an Ancient Rome coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions....
 or 1/8 of a denarius
Denarius

The ancient Roman currency system included the 'denarius' after 211 BC, a small silver coin, and it was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly Debasement until its replacement by the antoninianus....
).

The dupondius was introduced during the Roman Republic as a large cast coin, although even at introduction it weighed less than 2 pounds.






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The dupondius (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 two-pounder) was a brass
Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
 coin
Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, usually in the shape of a Disk , and most often issued by a government....
 used during the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
 and Roman Republic
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 valued at 2 asses
As (coin)

The was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, named after the homonymous weight unit , but not immune to weight depreciation....
 (1/2 of a sestertius
Sestertius

The sestertius, or sesterce, was an Ancient Rome coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions....
 or 1/8 of a denarius
Denarius

The ancient Roman currency system included the 'denarius' after 211 BC, a small silver coin, and it was the most common coin produced for circulation but was slowly Debasement until its replacement by the antoninianus....
).

The dupondius was introduced during the Roman Republic as a large cast coin, although even at introduction it weighed less than 2 pounds. The coin featured the bust of Roma
Roma (mythology)

In Roman paganism and its Roman mythology, Roma was a deity personifying the Roman state, or a personification in art of the city of Rome ....
 on the obverse and a six-spoked wheel
Wheel

A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines....
 on the reverse. This denomination was not minted after during the Republican
Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the phase of the Ancient Rome characterized by a republican form of government; a period which began with the overthrow of the Roman Roman Kingdom, c....
 Era.
Dupondius Didius Julianus Ric 0012
With the coinage reform of Augustus in or about 23 BC, the sestertius and dupondius were produced in a golden colored copper-alloy called orichalcum
Orichalcum

Orichalcum is a metal mentioned in several ancient writings, most notably the story of Atlantis as recounted in the Critias dialogue, recorded by Plato....
 by the Romans and numismatists, and by us brass
Brass

Brass is any alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties. In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin....
, while lower denominations were produced out of reddish copper. However, some dupondi were made from copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
 under Augustus, while under Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
 some of the as
AS

AS may refer to:...
 denomination were made from orichalcum
Orichalcum

Orichalcum is a metal mentioned in several ancient writings, most notably the story of Atlantis as recounted in the Critias dialogue, recorded by Plato....
 instead of copper
Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity....
. The latter can only be distinguished by their smaller size and the metal.

The dupondius was normally further distinguished from the similarly sized as
As (coin)

The was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, named after the homonymous weight unit , but not immune to weight depreciation....
 with the addition of a radiate crown to the bust of the emperor in 66
66

Year 66 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar....
 AD during the reign of Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
. Using a radiate crown to indicate double value was also used on the antoninianus
Antoninianus

The antoninianus was a coin used during the Roman Empire thought to have been valued at 2 denarius. It was initially silver, but was slowly debasement to bronze....
 (double denarius) and double sestertius
Double sestertius

The double sestertius was a large Roman coin made of orichalcum first issued by Trajan Decius in AD 249-251, as a response to the inflationary pressures of the time which had devalued the buying power of the conventional sestertius....
. Since dupondii minted prior to and during the reign of Nero
Nero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and final Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty....
, and occasionally under later rulers, lack the radiate crown, it is often hard to distinguish between the as
As (coin)

The was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, named after the homonymous weight unit , but not immune to weight depreciation....
 and the dupondius due to heavy patina
Patina

Patina is a film on the surface of bronze or similar metals ; a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure....
tion which obscures the coin's original color.

An extremely rare dupondius from the reign of Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important stoicism philosophy....
, dated to AD 154 or 155 and in excellent condition, was discovered in 2007 at the archeological site in Draper's Gardens
Draper's Gardens

Drapers Gardens is a site in the City of London at the junction of Throgmorton Avenue and Copthall Avenue on land owned by the Drapers' Company, originally forming gardens but used for major office blocks from the 1960s....
, London.

Sestertius Dupondius As


See also: Roman currency
Roman currency

The main Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the As ....
.

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