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Roman Republic, Denarius

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

Roma was the embodiment of the Roman state and the city of Rome. Around 211 BC she appeared on the very first denarii, quinarii and sestertii of the Roman Republic. On the denarius her image was kept throughout the 2nd century BC.

The reverse of the denraii usually bore the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Godfather Zeus and of Leda, whom Zeus impregnated in the guise of a swan. Castor and Pollux were always shown with two stars, as they also were the eponyms of a bright pair of stars in the Gemini constellation. Often the two stars were accompanied by a crescent, the symbol of Luna, the goddess of the moon.

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