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Coin (reverse), Didrachm

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Coin (reverse), Didrachm
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This silver Roman coin, of a type known as a didrachm, was minted between 225 and 214 BC. This picture shows the reverse of the coin. Although the inscription 'ROMA', signifying the mint of Rome, appears on this side, the place of minting is uncertain. A didrachm had a value of two drachmai. The coin's weight averaged 4 grams or slightly above, with a diameter of about 16 millimeters. 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" - Greek for as much as you could hold in a hand. The Romans also used drachmai but created a new system of coinage around about 211 BC.

The reverse depicts Jupiter, the father of the gods, with a sceptor in one hand and hurling a thunderbolt from the other, in a vehicle called a quadriaga pulled by four horses and driven by Victory. The inscription ROMA is below.

The earliest Roman silver coins were modelled on Greek types, in a denomination known as a didrachm. However, only during or after the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BC) does an unbroken sequence occur.

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