The historian Livy (first centuary BCE ) mentions a tradition that Roman senators of the early Republic had to carry their wealth in carts (Livy,6.60.6). (Williams 39) From this period date the early roughcast lumps of bronze known today as aes rude (“unworked bronze”) and the cast bronze/iron ramo secco (“dry branch”) bars with a crude design resembling a branch. Neither form of currency was specifically Roman, indeed the ramo secco bars were generally in use further to the north of Italy, but were used by the Romans as valuable bullion. They were not however made to a consistent weight standard and were often chopped up into smaller pieces.

These coins rough and oval in shape corresponded to a system of regular weights. Their markings or sometimes lack of makes attribution to a specific minting authority difficult. Sometimes simple parallel lines, but mostly figurative designs in particular of animals. From available evidence it is believed these coins originated in the late seventh century. The first written reference to coins made of electrum dates back to the early years of the sixth century. A donation of 2000 staters for military expenses from the Lydians to poet statesman Alcaeus.

Several early texts documenting the principles of law and justice in Mesopotamia are preserved on clay tablets and stone inscriptions from the royal and temple archives and monuments of the cities in the region. They provide us with some evidence of the social framework within which precious metal was used as money. In the law codes (proclamations by the king in establishing justice rather than legal codes) a wide range of payments are documented in terms of fixed amounts of weighted silver. Fines for harming another person or property were usually reckoned in silver.

It is evident enough that early man must have put a high value on its domesticated animals. The herdsmen of the Steppe felt so strongly about the well being of their cattle that they would create a war like environment in which they lived only to protect grazing land and secure new territories to satisfy the needs of their livestock. It is struggle for grazing territory which would eventually force them to interact with the agricultural societies of the south plains.

Some topics in this essay:
Sippar Puzuram, Mesopotamia Egypt, BCE Aes, History Money, Code Hammurabo, Herodotus Greek, Bernard Shaw, Egypt Mesopotamia, Twelve Tables, Iron Age, unit weight, precious metals, gold silver, pieces cast circular, libra bearing roman, weighing pound, means payment, paid bronze, weight weighing, pound libra bearing, pound libra, weighing pound libra, value equivalent, unit weight weighing, sixth century,