Argenteus

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The argenteus was a silver coin produced by the Roman Empire from the time of Diocletian's coinage reform in 294 AD to ca. 310 AD. It was of similar weight and fineness as the denarius of the time of Nero. The coin was produced at a theoretical weight of 1/96th of a Roman pound (about 3 grams), as indicated by the Roman numeral XCVI on the coin's reverse.

Argenteus, meaning "of silver" in Latin, was first used in Pliny's Natural History in the phrase "argenteus nummus" (silver coin). The 4th century historian Ammianus uses the same phrase, however there is no indication that this is the official name for a denomination. The Historia Augusta uses the phrase to refer to several fictitious coins.

See also: Numismatics, Roman currency, Edict on Maximum Prices.

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