The Roman Quadrigatus
Anonymous. Circa 225-212 BC. AR Didrachm – Quadrigatus (21mm, 6.62 g, 9h). Rome mint. Laureate head of Janus, no annulets at top of head, curved truncation / Jupiter, hurling thunderbolt with right hand and holding scepter in left, in galloping quadriga driven right by Victory, holding reins in both hands; ROMA incuse on raised tablet in exergue. Crawford 28/3; Sydenham 64a; HN Italy 334; RSC 23; BMCRR Romano-Campanian 87; Kestner 88, 92–3, and 95; RBW 65. Lightly toned, some faint hairlines and minor marks. Choice EF. Elegant rendering of Janus.
This type, the first truly extensive Roman coinage in silver, began shortly before the outbreak of the Second Punic War and continued until it was superseded by the denarius reform of circa 211 BC. Some early Roman imperial texts refer to a coin called a “quadrigatus” that was used to make payments during the war against Hannibal; this is clearly the type that commenced circa 225 BC, bearing a youthful, laureate janiform head on the obverse and a quadriga carrying Jupiter and Victory on the reverse. The issue was quite large and included a number of variant subtypes, indicating several mints were involved in the production. Later issues were struck on smaller flans in debased silver, no doubt due to wartime shortages.
