Roman Money and Numerical Practice

Abstract

This paper addresses the intersection of money and number in the Roman Empire. I trace two main contexts of numerical practice, using material evidence from the Roman town of Pompeii as well as literary sources. These two kinds of practice were linked the different physical forms in which money was expressed, specifically coins or written units of account. Uses of number related to coins tended to foreground singular amounts and lack of numerical manipulation, suggesting a simple numeracy based on low, round, or repetitive numbers. Amounts in written money of account, sestertii, could be quite round as well, but a different set of numerical practices also took shape here, centered on forms of calculation such as the abacus or finger numbers, and on the use of written tables and fractions. Money in written units of account was conceived as a mass and a single number to be divided or manipulated, and was conceptually related to specific categories of transactions, such as inheritance, property, and loans.