Dodrans

This article is about the ancient coin. For the metrical unit, see Aeolic verse.

The dodrans (Latin: lit. nine-twelfths) was an Ancient Roman bronze coin produced during the Roman Republic.

The dodrans, valued at three-fourth of an as (9 unciae), was produced only twice:

• in 126 BC by C. Cassius, in combination with the bes, another very rare denomination which was valued at two-thirds of an as.
• in the 2nd century BC by M. Caecilius Metellus Q. f. (perhaps Marcus Caecilius Metellus, consul 115 BC), in combination with the denarius and other Æ coins, e.g. the semis, triens, and quadrans.

Dodrans as a unit may refer to a time span of forty-five minutes or a length of nine inches. It has also been used to refer to the metrical pattern ¯˘˘¯˘¯, which constitutes the last three-quarters of the glyconic line. Also called the choriambo-cretic, the pattern is common in Aeolic verse.

See also

• Roman currency
• Ancient Greek coinage

External links

• Dodrans