Didrachm

Capua struck this issue after defecting to Hannibal following the Roman catastrophe at Cannae in 216 BC — one of the most consequential acts of Italian disloyalty Rome would ever face. The city's willingness to abandon the Roman alliance gave Hannibal his most valuable Italian base and prompted Rome to promise, upon reconquest, a punishment severe enough to deter any future defection.

That reconquest came in 211 BC. Rome stripped Capua of political existence entirely — no magistrates, no senate, no citizen body. The city was governed as a mere possession. These coins therefore represent the complete lifespan of Capuan independence under Barcid protection, beginning and ending within five years.