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Denarius Imitation of Roman Republic Denarius
| Issuer | Uncertain Dacian tribes |
|---|---|
| Year | 200 BC - 101 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, depicted as mounted horsemen galloping to the right, each armed with a long spear held upright; the horses are rendered in a lively, if somewhat schematized, barbarous style reflecting the Dacian imitative tradition. The legend ROMA appears below the horses within a linear frame or partial exergue, closely replicating the standard Roman Republican denarius type. The overall composition faithfully mirrors the official prototype, though with the simplified engraving typical of provincial or tribal imitative coinage. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Dacian imitation denarii are among the most numismatically puzzling series in Iron Age Europe — produced by tribes in the Carpathian basin who had no tradition of coinage but recognized the denarius as a prestige object and medium of elite exchange. Early imitations hew reasonably close to their Roman prototypes; later ones degenerate into near-abstract designs through successive hand-copying, each die-cutter working from a coin rather than an official template. The degradation is not incompetence but distance from the source.
Attribution to specific tribes remains impossible in most cases. Hoards from modern Romania continue to refine the typology.