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Roman Republic, Anonymous Roma Denarius - Dioscuri Galloping (Syd 311)
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AR Denarius
Rome, after 211 BC
4.21g
Obv: Helmeted head of Roma (R), behind, X.
Rev: The Dioscuri galloping (R); below, ROMA in linear frame.
Sydenham 311. RBW –. Crawford 53/2.
Naville Numismatics Auction 45, Lot 374
ex. Elvira Clain Stefanelli (1914-2001) collection, curator of the National Numismatics Collection at the Smithsonian.
An example of the earliest denarius coinage from its first production in the last part of the 3rd and early 2nd centuries BC. Rome overhauled its coinage around 211 BC and introduced the denarius, containing an average 4.5 grams, or 1/72 of a Roman pound, of silver. The word dēnārius is derived from the Latin dēnī "containing ten", as its value was originally of 10 assēs. It formed the backbone of Roman currency throughout the Roman Republic.
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