The topic on this Roman quinarius from 40 BC is the alliance that the two strong men of Rome contracted that year. Thereby Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (the later Emperor Augustus) and general Markus Antonius reassured each other of their mutual friendship and assistance. Accordingly the obverse depicts Concordia, the Roman goddess of harmony; the reverse shows two hands in a handshake.
The inscription makes it clear whose hands are on view: M. ANTON and C. CAESAR it says. Above the hands is a caduceus, a so-called wand of Hermes; among other things, it symbolized the fusion of conflicting forces in ancient times.