Record

Coin (obverse), Drachm

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minted in Rome

Postcard of Coin (obverse), Drachm.
000-100-065-439-C
© National Museums Scotland

Coin (obverse), Drachm

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: 0098: 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
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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