ROM AN STANDARD OF CURRENCY. 219
Greco-barbarian
type of the coinage, and endeavoured to imitate that of his patron
Augustus, both in design and in make, precisely as his countrymen upon
the Continent were, a little earlier, rudely copying the consular
denarii. It may be supposed that the chiefs of the other maritime
tribes followed his example, and issued the numerous caricatures of the
Roman mintage found in other parts of England, pieces in base silver
and copper, struck in the Roman style, flat, not like the Greek, dished upon
one side. That such a coinage was actually carried on here, until the
real subjugation of the island in Nero's reign, is established by a
passage in Gildas (§ 7), recording that after some great rebellion of
the natives (apparently the one under Boadicea), the Romans changed the
name " Britannia " into " Insula Romana ; " and ordained that all the
metals it possessed should be stamped with Caesar's image: "et quidquid
haberi potuisset aeris argenti vel auri imagine Cœsaris notaretur."
THE ROMAN STANDARD OF CURRENCY.
Pliny expresses his surprise that the Republic should have exacted the tribute from all the subject nations in silver, instead
of in gold as was the rule in his times. He did not pay attention to
the fact that under the Republic the standard of currency was silver,
and that all payments were estimated in that medium. There had indeed
been a coinage of gold, commencing about 200 b.c., but
to a very limited extent, and apparently not so much intended for
commercial as for religious purposes, for distribution in prizes, or
for offerings to certain deities under specified conditions. These
coins were extremely minute, weighing one scruple, Roman (18 gr, Troy),
and current for 20 sestertii, the value XX being marked on the
obverse. Doubles
