Denarius

Iberian Kese denarius from Tarraco.
The Iberian denarius was first minted at the beginning of the 2nd century BC, after the Second Punic War and the Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula. These locally minted coins were designed to meet the financial needs of installing the conquering legions. Rome left the choice of the iconography and text to the indigenous population, but insisted on the strict reproduction of the characteristics of their own denarius in terms of the metal and the weight, which at that time had been reduced to 3.99 g. Unlike Roman coin issues, which have the goddess Roma on the obverse and Castor and Pollux, the sons of Jupiter, on the reverse, only one of the twins appears here; he is carrying the palm of victory and leading his brother’s horse.

Obverse: Male head facing right.
Reverse: Iberian inscription KESE on one line below a horseman with a palm in his right hand and leading a second horse.

Inventory number: MNAT 22285