Aequator monetae dupondium appendit.

The sentence breaks down like this:

• aequator = the subject
• monetae = a noun depending on aequator
• dupondium = the direct object
• appendit = the verb

So the basic structure is subject + object + verb, with monetae adding extra information about aequator.

Aequator is nominative singular, so it is the subject of the sentence.

The ending -tor is very common in Latin for a person who does an action, as in agent nouns. So aequator means something like adjuster, equalizer, or in this context a person connected with checking or balancing coinage.

In this sentence, monetae is most naturally understood as genitive singular.

That means it gives an of-phrase: of the mint, of money, or of coinage, depending on context.

This is a very common Latin pattern:

• a noun
• followed by a genitive showing possession or connection

So aequator monetae is something like the adjuster/weigher of the mint.

Also, a learner should notice that monetae is formally ambiguous: it could also be dative singular or nominative plural in other contexts. Here, though, the genitive makes the best sense.

Moneta can mean more than one related thing in Latin, including money, coinage, and mint.

In this sentence, because it is linked to aequator, it is most likely referring to the mint or coinage, not just money in a general abstract sense.

So the idea is probably an official connected with the production or checking of coins.

Dupondium is accusative singular, the direct object of appendit.

It is the thing being acted on.

Because it is a neuter noun, its nominative and accusative singular forms look the same. So you identify its role from the sentence structure: here it is the object of the verb.

You may see both dupondius and dupondium in Latin.

Here the sentence uses dupondium, a neuter form for the coin name. So there is nothing wrong with it; it is just a different lexical form from the one many learners first meet.

In this sentence, that form appears as accusative singular, but because it is neuter, it looks the same as the nominative singular.

That is a very good question, because appendo can mean more than one thing.

Its basic physical sense is hang, attach, or suspend. But from the idea of hanging something on a scale, it can also mean weigh.

So in a money or coin context, appendit is naturally understood as weighs rather than literally hangs.

This form is ambiguous in spelling.

With appendo, both of these can appear as appendit:

• present: he weighs / he hangs
• perfect: he weighed / he has weighed

So by itself, the written form does not tell you which one it is. You need context or the supplied meaning to decide.

This is one of those places where Latin can be less explicit than English.

Latin does not have definite or indefinite articles like English the and a/an.

So a Latin sentence often leaves that idea unstated, and English has to add it when translating.

Depending on context, aequator could be translated as the adjuster, an adjuster, or even just adjuster in a dictionary-style gloss.

Yes. The word order is perfectly normal for Latin.

A few things are especially natural here:

• the verb comes at the end: appendit
• the descriptive genitive monetae comes right after the noun it belongs with: aequator monetae

Latin word order is more flexible than English word order because the case endings show the grammatical roles. So the words could be rearranged for emphasis, but this version is straightforward and readable.