Coin (obverse), Drachm

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This silver drachm of Rome was minted between 225 and 212 BC. This picture shows the obverse of the coin. A drachm was the basic silver coin of Ancient Greece, where it was also the name of a standard weight, and a early form of coinage for the Romans. The drachm supposedly took its name from a handful (drax) of six iron spits (obeloi), which were formerly used as currency. This ratio of six obols to the drachm continued long after the invention of coinage. The word is probably derived from "drax" or "dragma" - Greek for as much as you could hold in a hand.

The obverse portrays a Janiform head (two faces looking outwards) of the Dioscuri. In Greek legend, the Dioscuri were Caster and Pollux, the twin brothers of Helen, and the sons of Zeus. Their cult was taken over by the Romans.

Coins of this and related types were issued just before and during the 2nd Punic War with Carthage (218-201 BC). They marked the last issues of didrachms and drachms, replaced by a new system of coinage around 211 BC.

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• Online ID: 000-100-065-439-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  H.C15007
• Date: 225 - 212
  Between 225 and 212 BC
  
• Material: Silver; moderate wear. Inscription: Obv. Laureate Janiform head of Dioscuri / Rev. Jupiter in quadriga to right, driven by Victory; ROMA in exergue
  Coin Type: Crawford 28/4
  Coin, drachm
  
• Dimensions: 18.50 mm D / Die Axis: 6.0
  
• What: Coin Type: Crawford 28/4
  Coin, drachm
  
• Subject: Queen Street Coin Collection
  
• Who: Dioscuri
  Jupiter
  Victory
  
• Where: Italy, Rome
  Roman Republic
  
• Event:
• Description: Silver drachm of Rome, 225 - 212 BC
  
• References:
  • Crawford, M.H. Roman Republican Coinage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976. 
• Translations:
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