Miliarense

Reverse of a Miliarense from the Hoxne Hoard. TRPS indicates the mint of Treveri.

(modern day Trier, Germany).

The miliarense (neuter form of the late Latin miliarensis, "pertaining to a thousand") was a large silver coin, introduced to the late Roman monetary system in the early 4th century. It was struck with variable fineness, generally with a weight between 3.8 and 6.0 grams, and a diameter of c.23-24mm. The miliarense was struck first under Constantine I ^[1]

A variant of the original denomination was revived in the Byzantine silver coinage from the 7th to the 11th centuries (see Miliaresion).

There were two kinds of miliarense: light and heavy. It took 14 heavy miliarensia and 18 light miliarensia to equal one gold solidus (as also introduced by Constantine). Miliarensia (pl) are highly desired by numismatists of the present day, due to both the rarity of the denomination (far less common than the siliqua) and the often exquisite execution of both bust and reverse types, which led to many being used as pendants or mounted in antiquity.

References

See also

• Roman currency
• Byzantine coinage

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