Moneyers

Coins of the second phase of the Republic

The moneyers

In the last part of the Roman Republic coins became a mean of communication, thanks to the inscrptions and the images displayed on it. The moneyers, who had the responsibility to define the characteristics of the coins, began to use coins as tool of politic propaganda, celebrating the origin of their family (gens) at the beginning, then using historical references more and more close to themselves; this approach was completed by Julius Caesar, who started to represent on the coins the head of the government in Rome.

The moneyers made part of the Vigintisexviris, that was a college of minor magistrates of the Roman Republic. The name means Twenty-six men since its composition was constituted by:

• tresviri capitales, that helped the magistrate to manage prisons and the execution of criminals;
• tresviri monetalis, in charge of minting coins;
• quattorviri viarum curandarum, for the maintenance of the roads inside the city of Rome;
• duoviri curatores viarum, to take care of roads out of Rome;
• decemviri stlitibus iudicandis, magistrates who judged lawsuits;
• praefecti Capuam Cumas, four judges sent in Campania to administer justice there.

Augustus abolished the two curatoreses viarum and the four prefects Campani, turning the college of the vigintisexviris into the vigintiviri (twenty men).

The vigintisexviratus was particularly important for the sons of Senators, since it constituted the way to begin the political career, as a necessary condition to access the cursus honorum was to be in charge of responsibilities in this organization.

The monetary triumviris ("tresviri monetales"), took care of the minting of coins, checking the weight and the alloys used for them. The official denomination was Tresviri aere argento auro flando feriundo (IIIvir AAAFF), that is monetary triumviri (III viri) to melt (flando) and to beat (feriundo) bronze (aere), silver (argento) and gold (auro). This position, created in 289 BC and lasted up to mid the III century AD, had at the beginning only three magistrates, but their number was brought to four by Julius Cesar at the end of the republic.

The name "monetary" comes from the site of the mint in Rome, that was in the Capitoline Hill close to the temple of Juno Moneta. According to Livy, this temple was on the place where the geese (sacred animal to the goddess) gave the alarm about the nighttime assault of the Gauls in 390 BC, saving the city. To celebrate this episode, a temple was built to Juno called "Moneta", meaning "who warns."

Coins issued by the moneyers

At the beginning the coins didn't bring the name of the moneyer, even if sometimes the coins used marks to identify the person responsible of a specific issue. These symbols progressively were replaced by short forms of the name of the moneyer, to become commemorative scenes of the origins and the history of the family of the moneyer as form of politic propaganda for themselves.

With the fight among the Roman families for the government of the Republic, this personal use of the information brought on the coins was more and more diffused and the time references more close to the moneyer, producing a large variety of coins according to the family of affiliation of the moneyer in charge for the government of the republic.

Moneyers since 286 to 42 BC

Family	since	to
DECIA	286	286
HORATIA	264	264
AURELIA	244	90
AUTRONIA	234	234
MATEINA	234	234
AELIA	224	92
PLAUTIA	218	45
CAECILIA	217	44
FURIA	217	53
LUTATIA	217	104
MAENIA	217	110
BAEBIA	217	144
SEMPRONIA	217	174
TERENTIA	217	214
PLUTIA	214	214
SPURILIA	214	214
VALERIA	209	45
JUVENTIA	209	83
SCRIBONIA	204	54
JUNIA	204	58
ITIA	204	204
CORNELIA	200	49
AFRANIA	200	200
SAUFEIA	200	200
ATILIA	194	136
MAIANIA	194	194
DOMITIA	179	40
COILIA	179	54
CALPURNIA	179	64
QUINCTILIA	179	179
MARCIA	174	60
ANTESTIA	174	124
LUCRETIA	164	74
CUPIENNIA	164	164
DECIMIA	154	154
RENIA	154	154
PORCIA	149	46
MINUCIA	149	90
FANNIA	149	149
GELLIA	149	149
CURIATIA	144	144
PINARIA	143	143
PAPIRIA	139	135
TREBANIA	139	139
JULIA	136	88
AUFIDIA	136	136
TITINIA	136	136
MANLIA	135	54
TULLIA	135	135
POSTUMIA	134	43
ACILIA	134	54
OPIMIA	134	134
QUINCTIA	134	134
POMPEIA	129	58
ABURIA	129	123
VARGUNTEIA	129	129
VETURIA	129	129
SERVILIA	124	64
FABIA	123	89
CLOULIA	119	101
CIJRTIA	114	114
AEMILIA	112	44
FONTEIA	112	54
DIDIA	112	112
LICINIA	110	45
CASSIA	109	54
CALIDIA	108	108
FULVIA	108	108
CLAUDIA	106	43
APPULEIA	104	94
CAESIA	104	104
SERGIA	104	104
FUNDANIA	102	101
EGNATULEIA	101	101
HERENNIA	99	99
MALLIA	99	99
FLAMINIA	94	44
AQUILLIA	94	54
MEMMIA	94	60
POMPONIA	94	64
SULPICIA	94	86
CIPIA	94	94
THORIA	94	94
POBLICIA	92	79
COSCONIA	92	92
VIBIA	90	42
AXIA	90	90
TITIA	90	90
CRITONIA	89	89
SENTIA	89	89
VOLTEIA	88	60
TITURIA	88	86
CRESUPIA	84	84
MAMILIA	84	84
MARIA	84	84
NORBANA	84	84
NUMITORIA	84	84
RUBRIA	83	83
ANNIA	82	81
ANTONIA	82	82
FARSULEIA	82	82
FUFIA	82	82
VETTIA	81	69
GARGILIA	81	81
OGULNIA	81	81
VERGILIA	81	81
PAPIA	79	45
PROCILIA	79	79
RUTILIA	79	79
PLAETORIA	74	69
NAEVIA	74	74
SATRIENA	74	74
RUSTIA	71	71
EGNATIA	69	69
CREPEREIA	64	56
ROSCIA	64	64
CONSIDIA	60	49
ALLIENA	60	60
NONIA	60	60
VINICIA	58	58
COSSUTIA	54	54
HOSIDIA	54	54
PLANCIA	54	54
ANTIA	49	45
CORDIA	49	49
NERIA	49	49
SICINIA	49	49
CARISIA	48	48
HOSTILIA	46	46
LIJCILIA	45	45
LOLLIA	45	45
CORNUFICIA	44	42
CESTIA	44	44
METTIA	44	44
SEPULLIA	44	44
ARRIA	43	42
LIVINEIA	43	42
ACCOLEIA	43	43
NUMONIA	43	43
PETILIA	43	43
STATIA	43	43
MUSSIDIA	42	42