Roman Republican Silver Denarius, M. Porcius Laeca, 125 BCE
Silver
4 Grams
C.5379
Further images
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma right, monogram below chin, LAECA behind Reverse: Jupiter in quadriga right, crowned by Victory flying above, M. PORC below horses, ROMA in exergu The bust...
Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma right, monogram below chin, LAECA behind
Reverse: Jupiter in quadriga right, crowned by Victory flying above, M. PORC below horses, ROMA in exergu
The bust of the goddess Roma, with its winged helmet, is a popular obverse type during the Republican period. The helmet itself is reminiscent of Hellenistic and Roman helmets of the time period, categorized by scholars as the Italo-Attic type. Officers and deities are often depicted as wearing this helmet long after such a design had gone into general disuse by the military. As such, it continued to be employed as a symbol connected with deities and heroic figures of the past. The moneyer is a descendant of the praetor, P. Porcius Laeca, who is credited for the Lex Porcia de Provocatione, a law that limited the abuses of military magistrates against Roman citizens.
Crawdord 270/1. RSC Porcia 3
Reverse: Jupiter in quadriga right, crowned by Victory flying above, M. PORC below horses, ROMA in exergu
The bust of the goddess Roma, with its winged helmet, is a popular obverse type during the Republican period. The helmet itself is reminiscent of Hellenistic and Roman helmets of the time period, categorized by scholars as the Italo-Attic type. Officers and deities are often depicted as wearing this helmet long after such a design had gone into general disuse by the military. As such, it continued to be employed as a symbol connected with deities and heroic figures of the past. The moneyer is a descendant of the praetor, P. Porcius Laeca, who is credited for the Lex Porcia de Provocatione, a law that limited the abuses of military magistrates against Roman citizens.
Crawdord 270/1. RSC Porcia 3