Nummus (pl.nummi) is aLatin word for various coins that wasborrowed fromDoric Greeknoummos (νοῦμμος;Classical Greek:νόμος,nómos).[1][2] Originally referring to a specific style of coin used inGreek-speaking Southern Italy, the term nummus came to be used by theLate Republic for allcoins generally and particularly as a synonym for thesestertius, then the standard unit of Roman accounting, and then inLate Antiquity as the formal name of thefollis. It was used in this general sense inEarly Modern English[3] but is most commonly employed by modernnumismatists as a catchall term for various low-valuecopper coins issued by theRoman andByzantine empires duringLate Antiquity.[4]
Forms of the termnummus also appear in variousscientific names and in medical jargon for coin-shaped species, structures, and disorders.
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Circa AD 294, during theTetrarchy, a new largebronze coin of circa 10grams weight and 30 mm diameter appeared. Its official name was apparentlynummus, although it has until recently been known amongnumismatists as thefollis.[5]
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The termnummus is now usually applied solely to the 5th–7th century Byzantine issues. These were small,badly struck coins, weighing less than 1 gram, forming the lowest denomination ofByzantine coinage. They were valued officially at1⁄7,200 of the goldsolidus but more usually rated to1⁄6,000 or1⁄12,000.[5] Thenummus usually featured the profile of the reigningByzantine emperor on the obverse and the Byzantine imperial monogram on the reverse, although some coins of EmperorJustinian I (r. 527–565) display its numerical value by theGreek numeral "A" instead.[5]
In 498, EmperorAnastasius I (r. 491–518) reformed the coinage (carried out by thecomes sacrarum largitionum John the Paphlagonian[6]) by introducing multiples of thenummus, with denominations of 40nummi, also known as afollis, 20nummi (semifollis), 10nummi (Greek: δεκανούμμιον,decanummium). These were also marked withGreek numerals representing their value: "M" for thefollis, "K" for thesemifollis and "I" for thedecanummium. On the other hand, it appears that issue of the simplenummus was discontinued.[7] In 513, the weights of these coins were doubled, thepentanummium (Greek: πεντανούμμιον, 5-nummi coin marked with "E") introduced, and the minting of singlenummi resumed.[8]
In 538–539, Emperor Justinian I introduced further changes to the 40-nummifollis, raising its weight to 25 grams. It was reduced again to 22.5 grams in 541/542, and further reductions followed until the century's end. At this time, a new 30-nummi coin (marked with "Λ" or "XXX") was introduced, but the singlefollis had ceased to be struck atConstantinople. It survived in theExarchate of Carthage well into the 7th century however.[5][9] During the 7th century, the successive military and financial crises led to further reduction in the weight and a marked deterioration of the quality of bronze coinage; by the time of EmperorConstans II (r. 641–668), afollis weighed only 3 grams. Consequently, the denominations lower than thesemifollis were practically unmintable and abandoned.[10] Thereafter, the termnummus remained in use as a notional unit for1⁄6,000 of thesolidus, and in colloquial usage for "small change".[5]
Forms of the termnummus also appear in medical jargon and variousscientific names to describe coin-shaped species, structures, and disorders: