aes grave
Roman coin
Quick Summary
The aes grave was a cumbersome bronze coinage used by ancient Romans and other Italic peoples. It was based on the "as" unit of value and literally means "heavy bronze" in Latin. The earliest Roman issues, the aes grave, were cast pieces, with the heaviest weighing as much as a Roman pound. This coinage system was eventually replaced by other units, such as the sestertius, and later by gold coinage like the aureus.123
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