| Troy weight. | Avoirdupois weight. | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lb. | Oz. | Dwts. | Grs. | Lb. | Oz. | Dwts. | |||||||||||
| Siliqua | 2·9 | 0·11 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Obolus | 8·8 | 0·32 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | 2 | Scrupulum | 17·5 | 0·64 | |||||||||||||
| 12 | 4 | 2 | Semisextula | 1 | 11·1 | 1·28 | |||||||||||
| 24 | 8 | 4 | 2 | Sextula | 2 | 22·1 | 2·56 | ||||||||||
| 36 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 1½ | Siciliquus | 4 | 9·2 | 3·85 | |||||||||
| 48 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1⅓ | Duella | 5 | 20·3 | 5·13 | ||||||||
| 72 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1½ | Semiuncia | 8 | 18·4 | 7·69 | |||||||
| 144 | 48 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | Uncia | 17 | 12·8 | 15·39 | ||||||
| 1728 | 576 | 288 | 144 | 72 | 48 | 36 | 24 | 12 | Libra | 10 | 10 | 9·5 | 11 | 8·67 | |||
| 172800 | 57600 | 28800 | 14400 | 7200 | 4800 | 3600 | 2400 | 1200 | 100 | Cent. pod. | 87 | 7 | 19 | 17·1 | 72 | 2 | 2·85 |
The denarius was the chief silver coin among the Romans. As a weight it was the 7th part of a Roman ounce. It is from this standard that both the value of the Roman weights and coins are deduced.
The industrious, learned, and honest Mr. Greaves affirms that having in Italy and elsewhere perused many hundred Denarii consulares, he found, by frequent and exact trial, the best of them to amount to 62 grains English.
The Roman ounce is certainly our avoirdupois ounce; but I must own that I have differed in a small matter from Mr. Greaves in settling the quantity of Troy grains contained in an ounce avoirdupois. The denarius, according to my supposition, will come out 62²²⁄₄₉ grains.
That the denarius was the 7th part of the Roman ounce is clear from multitudes of passages. Celsus (v, 17): Sed et antea sciri volo in uncia pondus denariorum esse septem.
Celsus divided the denarius into six parts, which he called, unciæ; uncia being a general word for the division of any integer. This was done in imitation of the Greek physicians, who, after the manner of their country, divided their drachma into 6 oboli.
The common mark of the denarius was an X or 𐆖, in imitation of which, among the Latin physicians, it grew to an *.
Of the Roman Pondo. The pondo argenti, amongst the Romans, is a sort of numeral expression of sums of money, and is different from the common libra which consisted only of 84 denarii, or 96 drachms, for as, æs, pondo, and mina, amongst ancient authors generally pass for the same.
Pondo is an indeclinable word, and when it is joined with numbers it signifies libra; but when it is joined to other weights, it stands for the same thing as σταθμῆ, or ὅλκη in the Greek, signifying the same with pondus, or weight in general.