What were Roman coins made from?

Ancient Roman coins were made from various materials. When the Romans first started using coins, they made coins from valuable metals such as bronze, gold and silver. The Romans first produced bronze coins, then silver coins and gold coins. The Romans rarely used gold coins, but they were produced.

Bronze coins were the coins that the Romans most commonly used until Rome expanded in the second century B.C. Once Rome had conquered Macedonia's silver mines, a boom in silver coin production occurred and silver coins became the most common. Later, the Romans began using coins made of brass and copper, but still produced gold and silver coins.