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Roman Republic, Denarius

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Roman Republic, Denarius (obverse) Roman Republic, Denarius (reverse)

The obverse of this denarius from the year 142 BC shows the head of Roma, the personification of Rome. Behind her is the abbreviation TRIGE, possibly for the cognomen of the moneyer Gaius Curiatus Trigeminus.

The reverse shows the praenomen and the nomen gentile of the moneyer, C. CVR for Gaius Curiatus. The illustration shows Juno, the highest Roman goddess, driving a racing chariot. Behind her stands Victoria, the goddess of victory, ready to crown her.

The Roman mint was located on the Capitol in the temple of Juno Moneta. The moneyers, the 'tresviri monetales,' were the three young men of about the age of twenty, descendants from influential families who planned to enter on a career as senator. The office of a triumvir monetalis was assigned for one year and formed one of the stepping-stones of the Roman Republican cursus honorum, the sequential order of public offices.

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