The argenteus (pl. argentei, ´of silver´) was a silver coin produced by the Roman Empire from the time of Diocletian´s coinage reform in AD 294 to ca. AD 310. It was of similar weight and fineness to the denarius of the time of Nero. The coin was produced at a theoretical weight of 1/96th of a Roman pound (about 3 grams), as indicated by the Roman numeral XCVI on the coin´s reverse.
One aureus equaled 25 argentei and one argenteus equaled 8 folles.
The term argenteus, meaning "of silver" in Latin, was first used in Pliny´s Natural History in the phrase argenteus nummus (silver coin). The 4th-century historian Ammianus uses the same phrase, though there is no indication that this is the official name for a denomination. The Historia Augusta uses the phrase to refer to several fictitious coins.
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