Roman Denarius Coin

Inv. No.: c041
Provenance: , C. Poblicius, Q.f.
Date: 78-77 B.C.
Weight: 3.65g
 
Obv.: Roma, wearing helmet with side-feathers.
ROMA

Rev.: Hercules naked, strangling Nemean lion; club at feet; bow and arrows in case.
C.POBLICI Q.F.

In a time of rising political tension at Rome, serration, or edge-marking, was used to demonstrate that the party in power was not issuing, through its moneyers, coins which were merely plated and, therefore, worthless. When one considers the volume of coinage involved, serration, a manual process, must have required a tremendous amount of labour. On the other hand, excellent base metal forgeries have been found, in which a thin silver wash has effectively defeated the purpose of the serrated edge.

The reverse type echoes earlier coins of Neapolis, Tarentum and Heraclea. Since, however, there is no known allusion to the moneyer family, the reference is possibly to the recent victory of Sulla over the Marian party. The recording of current events on coins as early as this is unusual, but not unparalleled.

Comparanda:
S 768