Nummus
Anastasius I: on the left a 40-nummi coin (follis
) and on the right a 5-nummi coin (pentanummium).Nummus (pl. nummi) is a
Late Antiquity.[4]
Forms of the term nummus also appear in various
scientific names
and in medical jargon for coin-shaped species, structures, and disorders.
History
Southern Italian coin
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Sestertius
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Follis
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Circa AD 294, during the Tetrarchy, a new large bronze coin of circa 10 grams weight and 30 mm diameter appeared. Its official name was apparently nummus, although it has until recently been known among numismatists as the follis.[5]
Byzantine issues
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The term nummus is now usually applied solely to the 5th–7th century Byzantine issues. These were small,
Greek numeral "A" instead.[5]
In 498, Emperor
Anastasius I (r. 491–518) reformed the coinage (carried out by the comes sacrarum largitionum John the Paphlagonian[6]) by introducing multiples of the nummus, with denominations of 40 nummi, also known as a follis, 20 nummi (semifollis), 10 nummi (Greek: δεκανούμμιον, decanummium). These were also marked with Greek numerals representing their value: "M" for the follis, "K" for the semifollis and "I" for the decanummium. On the other hand, it appears that issue of the simple nummus was discontinued.[7] In 513, the weights of these coins were doubled, the pentanummium (Greek: πεντανούμμιον, 5-nummi coin marked with "E") introduced, and the minting of single nummi resumed.[8]
In 538–539, Emperor Justinian I introduced further changes to the 40-nummi follis, raising its weight to 25 grams. It was reduced again to 22.5 grams in 541/542, and further reductions followed until the century's end. At this time, a new 30-nummi coin (marked with "
Constans II (r. 641–668), a follis weighed only 3 grams. Consequently, the denominations lower than the semifollis were practically unmintable and abandoned.[10] Thereafter, the term nummus remained in use as a notional unit for 1⁄6,000 of the solidus, and in colloquial usage for "small change".[5]
Other uses
Look up nummus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nummus.
Forms of the term nummus also appear in medical jargon and various
scientific names
to describe coin-shaped species, structures, and disorders:
- Arctostaphylos nummularia
- Atriplex nummularia
- Biscogniauxia nummularia
- Bulbophyllum nummularioides
- Capparis spinosa subsp. nummularia
- Correa reflexa var. nummulariifolia
- Dorstenia nummularia
- Eriogonum nummulare
- Helianthemum nummularium
- Lysimachia nummularia
- Nummular dermatitis
- Nummulite
- Pilea nummulariifolia
- Ziziphus nummularia
References
Citations
- Perseus Project.
- ^ Klose, Dietrich (Munich). "Nummus." Brill's New Pauly. Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider. Brill Online, 2015. Retrieved 02 June 2015
- ^ Cf. Camden's Britannia et al.
- ^ Moretti, Federico (1828). Diccionario militar español-francés. Imprenta Real de Orden Superior. p. 116.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6.
- ISBN 0-86078-253-0.
- ^ Grierson 1999, pp. 17–18.
- ^ Grierson 1999, p. 18.
- ^ Grierson 1999, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Grierson 1999, p. 19.
Sources
- Grierson, Philip (1999). Byzantine Coinage (PDF). Washington, District of Columbia: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-03-11.
Further reading
- Bates, George Eugene (1971). Byzantine Coins. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674089655.
- Grierson, Philip (1982). Byzantine Coins. London, United Kingdom: Methuen. ISBN 978-0-416-71360-2.
- Hendy, Michael F. (1985). Studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c. 300–1450. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24715-2.
- Sear, David R.; Bendall, Simon; O'Hara, Michael Dennis (1987). Byzantine Coins and their Values. London, United Kingdom: Seaby. ISBN 9780900652714.
- Whiting, Philip D. (1973). Byzantine Coins. New York, New York: G.P. Putman. ISBN 9780399110283.