The sextans was an Ancient Romanbronzecoin produced during the Roman Republic valued at one-sixth of an as (2 unciae). The most common design for the sextans was the bust of Mercury and two pellets (indicating two unciae) on the obverse and the prow of a galley on the reverse. Earlier types depicted a scallop shell, a caduceus, or other symbols on the obverse.
Coins are usually used for lower-valued units, and banknotes are usually used for the higher values; also, in most money systems, the highest value coin is worth less than the lowest-value note.
Some coins have coin orientation, where the coin must be flipped vertically to see the other side; other coins, such as British coins, have medallic orientation, where the coin must be flipped horizontally to see the other side.
Coins are popularly used as a sort of two-sided die; in order to choose between two options with a random possibility, one choice will be labeled "heads" and the other "tails," and a coin will be flipped or "tossed" to see whether the heads or tails side comes up on top.
In addition to the as, fractions, the bes (2/3), semis (1/2), quincunx (5/12), triens (1/3), quadrans (1/4), sextans (1/6), uncia (1/12, also a common weight unit), and semuncia (1/24), and multiples, the dupondius (2), tressis (3), quadrussis (4), quinquessis (5), and denarius (10), of the as were produced.
During the Republic, the as featured the bust of Janus on the obverse and the prow of a galley on the reverse.
It was the lowest valued coin regularly issued during the Roman Empire, with semis and quadrans being produced infrequently and then not at all by the time of Marcus Aurelius.
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