As (Roman coin)

The as (plural asses), also assarius (rendered into Greek as ἀσσάριον, assarion) was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.

Republican era coinage

The Romans replaced the usage of Greek coins, first by blocks and then by disks made of bronze Aes rude. The system thus named as was introduced in ca. 280 BC as a large cast bronze coin during the Roman Republic. The following fractions of the as were also produced: the bes (2/3), semis (1/2), quincunx (5/12), triens (1/3), quadrans (1/4), sextans (1/6), uncia (1/12, also a common weight unit), and semuncia (1/24), as well as multiples of the as, the dupondius (2), sestertius (2.5), tressis (3), quadrussis (4), quinarius (5), denarius (10) and aureus (250).

After the as had been issued as a cast coin for about seventy years, and its weight had been reduced in several stages, a sextantal as was introduced (meaning that it weighed one-sixth of a pound). At about the same time a silver coin, the denarius, was also introduced. Earlier Roman silver coins had been struck on the Greek weight standards that facilitated their use in southern Italy and across the Adriatic, but all Roman coins were now on a Roman weight standard. The denarius, or 'tenner', was at first tariffed at ten asses, but about 140 B.C. it was retariffed at sixteen asses. This is said to have been a result of financing the Punic Wars.

Coin

A coin is a piece of hard material used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a government.

Coins are usually metal or alloy, or sometimes made of synthetic materials. They are usually disc shaped. Coins made of valuable metal are stored in large quantities as bullion coins. Other coins are used as money in everyday transactions, circulating alongside banknotes. Usually the highest value coin in circulation (i.e. excluding bullion coins) is worth less than the lowest-value note. In the last hundred years, the face value of circulation coins has occasionally been lower than the value of the metal they contain, for example due to inflation. If the difference becomes significant, the issuing authority may decide to withdraw these coins from circulation, or the public may decide to melt the coins down or hoard them (see Gresham's law).

Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of silver or gold (and, rarely, other metals, such as platinum or palladium), intended for collectors or investors in precious metals. Examples of modern gold collector/investor coins include the British sovereign minted by the United Kingdom, the American Gold Eagle minted by the United States, the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf minted by Canada, and the Krugerrand, minted by South Africa. While the Eagle, Maple Leaf, and Sovereign coins have nominal (purely symbolic) face values; the Krugerrand does not.

Coin (department store)

Coin ([koˈiŋ], after the venetian for cohen) is an Italian upmarket department store chain dedicated to the worlds of apparel, home decorations, accessories and beauty. Its headquarters are located in Venezia Mestre.

History

It was established in 1926 in Mirano (Venice), where the first store was opened. In 1962 it opened its flagship store in Milan at Piazza 5 Giornate. Coin was the first retailer to develop a fidelity card program in Italy in 1986.

Coin Group

The Coin Group owns OVS (midmarket apparel department stores) and, since January 2010, UPIM, a midmarket apparel, home and beauty department stores chain previously part of La Rinascente Group.

References

Coin (disambiguation)

A coin is a piece of hard material used as money.

Coin or Coins may also refer to:

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