Caius Poblicius Quinti Filius, silver denarius serratus, 3.87 g.
Title
Caius Poblicius Quinti Filius, silver denarius serratus, 3.87 g.
Creator
Caius Policius Quinti Filius
Date
80 BCE
Description
Obverse: Draped bust of Roma facing right, wearing Phrygian helmet with griffin's head and feather at each side; to left, ROMA downwards; above, control mark, E.
Reverse: Hercules standing facing left, strangling Nemean lion; at feet, club; to left, bow and quiver of arrows; on right, C POBLICI Q F; above, control mark, E.
Style/Period: Roman Republic
Nothing is known about Caius Poblicius Quinti Filius. The depiction of Roma with a Phrygian helmet is a common type of the period. He also continues to use control marks. On the reverse he depicted Hercules in his struggle with the Nemean lion, the first of his famous labors. Hercules was supposed to obtain the lion skin for Eurystheus, but it became an attribute worn by Hercules (see coins C028 and C034). According to some accounts, the lion was invincible and Hercules was forced to strangle and skin it with his own hands. The bow and arrow at this feet are unusual additions since there is no surviving account of Hecules using them to defeat the lion. The minting magistrate's use of Hercules on this coin may refer to the recent victory of Sulla over the party of Marius, but if so, it would be a rare example of a reference to a significant current event this early in the first century BCE.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Poblicia, 9; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 365, no. 2900; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 125, no. 768; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 396, no. 380; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 47, no. 150.
-- Bradford W. Wendel, LU '96
Bibliography: E. Babelon, Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la republique romaine (Paris and London 1885-1886) Poblicia, 9; H. A. Grueber, Coins of the Roman Republic in the British Museum (London 1910), I, 365, no. 2900; E. A. Sydenham, The Coinage of the Roman Republic (London 1952) 125, no. 768; M. H. Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage (London 1974) 396, no. 380; R. A. G. Carson, Principal Coins of the Romans, I (London 1978) 47, no. 150.
Source
Classics Department Collection
Identifier
C032
Rights
Wriston Art Center Galleries, Lawrence University, Appleton, WI,wriston-gallery@lawrence.edu,920-832-6890
Files
Citation
Caius Policius Quinti Filius, “Caius Poblicius Quinti Filius, silver denarius serratus, 3.87 g.,” Lawrence University Classics Department & Ottilia Buerger Coin Collections, accessed November 5, 2026, https://thor.lawrence.edu/omeka/buerger/items/show/395.