Sesterce
a Roman coin, the fourth part of the Denarius, and thus containing at first two asses or libræ. The name is an abbreviation of the Latin semis-tertius, and their custom was to derive the names which was their mode of expressing two, of all their coins from the foundation of their money system, the As. The symtheir money system, the As. The symthe former being only a modification of the former being only a modification of and S for the additional half-unit (semis).
In the Latin classics, the phrase sester- In the Latin classics, the phrase sesterquently employed to denote this coin. quently employed to denote this coin. 16 asses, the relation between it and the from that time contained 4 asses, though SETHITES the name, which was now no longer significant, was preserved. The sum of 1,000 sestertii was called sestertium, which, after Augustus, was equal to about $43, and was the "money of account" (never a "coin") used in the reckoning of large sums of money.