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Roman Republic, Quinarius

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Roman Republic, Quinarius (obverse) Roman Republic, Quinarius (reverse)

The goddess on the obverse of this quinarius is commonly identified as Roma. The cult of Roma was a Greek invention, that only emerged in the 2nd century BC however – long after the reorganization of the Roman currency and the introduction of the denarius and the quinarius, which both always bear the head of 'Roma.' Who the lady is, is hitherto unknown. A decisive factor for the Roma cult in Greece was the Roman victory in the Second Punic War: like that, the Hellenes demonstrated their admiration towards the Roman power.

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