Lesson plan

nummus

: on the left a 40-nummi coin (follis) and on the right a 5-nummi coin (pentanummium). Nummus ( . nummi) is a Latin word for various coins that was borrowed from Doric Greek noummos ( ; Classical Greek: , nómos). Originally referring to a specific style of coin used in Greek-speaking Southern Italy, the term nummus came to be used by the Late Republic for all coins generally and particularly as a synonym for the sestertius, then the standard unit of Roman accounting, and then in Late Antiquity as the formal name of the follis. It was used in this general sense in Early Modern English but is most commonly employed by modern numismatists as a catchall term for various low-value copper coins issued by the Roman and Byzantine empires during Late Antiquity. Forms of the term also appear in various scientific names and in medical jargon for coin-shaped species, structures, and disorders.

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Article summary

: on the left a 40-nummi coin (follis) and on the right a 5-nummi coin (pentanummium). Nummus ( . nummi) is a Latin word for various coins that was borrowed from Doric Greek noummos ( ; Classical Greek: , nómos). Originally referring to a specific style of coin used in Greek-speaking Southern Italy, the term nummus came to be used by the Late Republic for all coins generally and particularly as a synonym for the sestertius, then the standard unit of Roman accounting, and then in Late Antiquity as the formal name of the follis. It was used in this general sense in Early Modern English but is most commonly employed by modern numismatists as a catchall term for various low-value copper coins issued by the Roman and Byzantine empires during Late Antiquity. Forms of the term also appear in various scientific names and in medical jargon for coin-shaped species, structures, and disorders.

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Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  3. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.