Page:Origin of metallic currency and weight standards.djvu/377

 *dition of their identity. And if the doctrine here put forward of the original nature of the as be right, nothing can be more likely than that the Italians who had crossed into Sicily and their kinsfolk who had remained behind employed rods of similar size, and that when they began to weigh the latter, the "weight" (libra or litra), derived from the standard copper rod, should be the same in each region, until certain modifications occasioned by new monetary conditions according to the needs of different communities had caused some divergency in coin weights, although as a commercial weight the litra remained unchanged. As Aristotle identified the Aeginetic obol and chalcus with the Sicilian litra and onkia, we may with some plausibility suggest that the ancient Greek copper obol or spike and the Italian as or rod were identical in dimensions and in origin.

In Greece the copper obol rapidly fell in weight, for, when once silver currency had been introduced, copper was thrust aside, and it was not till the fourth century that copper coins came into use. When the copper obol appears as a coin it is but a small piece, being in fact a mere token.

As (Aes grave). (Before 2nd Punic War.)

The history of the degradation of copper was seen better in Sicily, where we found the litra still weighing 990 grs., but it rapidly sank to only 200 grs., evidently in this case also being mere money of account. For as the silver litra was about 13-1/2 grs., unless the 200 grain copper litra was a mere token, silver would have been to copper as 17 : 1, which is obviously absurd. In the case of the Italian as the process