The denarius is one of several Roman denominations. It was the standard Roman silver coin from 211 BCE to the mid third century of the CE, when it was gradually replaced by the Antoninianus. Its name is derived from the Latin word "deni", which means "containing ten". Its initial value was the equivalent of 10 asses (an as was an existing copper coin).
The initial weight of denarius was 4.5 g of almost pure silver, the equivalent of 1/72 of the Roman libra (pound). In its more than 400 years of existence, the denarius underwent progressive debasement, weighing little more than 3 g of 4% silver by the year 260 CE
The word meaning "money" descends from denarius in Italian (denaro), Slovene (denar), Portuguese (dinheiro), and Spanish (dinero). The countries of Algeria, Bahrein, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libia, Macedonia, Serbia and Tunisia use the dinar as their currency.
