Around 150 BC this denarius would provide an average Roman with food for about 20 days. 30 pounds of dried figs cost 1 as at that time, the primary unit of the Roman monetary system. This is what the digit X behind the helmet of the goddess Roma on the obverse refers to. A denarius was a 'tenner,' a silver coin worth 10 bronze asses.
The reverse depicts Victoria, the goddess of victory, driving a two-horse chariot called a biga. Below is the inscription SAFRA, the signature of the moneyer Safranius, and the word ROMA for the state power responsible for the issue of this coin.