Collection History: Donated by R.S. Shankland in 1940
Carthaginian occupation.
Gold issues were extremely rare in the Republic, and were only issues on an ad hoc basis. This beautiful 60-denarious piece would have been issued in 208BC. During the Second Punic War, Roman currency was debased and the creation of the denarius was one way the Romans sought to inspire faith in their monetary system. The extremely pure silver coinage of the denarius was complemented by the limited issue of these high-purity gold coins. Coins such as this would have been used by the state to pay for high state expenses, such as mercenaries, payments to allies, etc. Chris Ostro 2013.