What was the currency of the Roman Empire (300-400 A.D.)?

Answer 1

it was a coin called the solidus with various silver and bronze coins additionally

Answer 2

The first currency of Rome consisted of large irregular lumps of bronze known as aes rude, which was different from Greek currency, where initially silver was used exclusively, even for very small denominations. Ancient minting techniques caused lumps as modern coins were forced to be round. Aes rude were impractical since they needed to be weighed for every transaction; they were eventually replaced with large cast objects that were round or rectangular called aes signatum. Next came a standardized currency of cast bronze, called aes grave, based around the denomination known as the as, which weighed one Roman pound, and fractional values.

The first silver coins struck in the name of Rome were a series of drachmae minted during the outbreak of war with Pyrrhus. The value of a drachma was equivalent to the daily wage for a skilled laborer. These coins, of the highest Greek style, were not struck in Rome, but in Neapolis, and were most likely made to facilitate trade with the Greek colonies of southern Italy. The silver coin that became the backbone of Roman economy, the denarius, was first struck in 211 BC; valued at originally at 10 asses, it was retariffed in 140 BC to 16 asses (to reflect the diminished size of the as). The use of gold in the production of coinage was originally sporadic. During the Republic gold coins were issued only in times of great need, such as during the Second Punic War or during the campaign of Sulla. The regular mintage of the aureus, the main gold coin of the Roman Empire, began during the time of the Imperators, who required huge sums to fight their enormous wars. The aureus had a fixed value of 25 denarii.

As time went on, in Rome, while the coin was 95% silver, it gradually lowered, finally to a quality of 0%. Roman coins were worth from a loaf of bread up to a new horse or lion depending on their value.

as a side note On 1 January 2002, . That milestone saw the world's oldest currency, the drachma dating from about the mid-6th century BC , disappear along with 12 other currencies, in favor of the euro