The secret of the 1.3-pound coin and its copies

Scientists are concerned about the origin of 2 ancient and unusual Roman coins, which appeared in the XX century. Then they were called dashing pennies. In fact, the coin is called quincusis. Until now, references to it were found only in texts devoted to the minting of coins of ancient times, but no one has ever seen the coin itself.

Dr. Roberto Volterri, Doctor of the University of Rome, shared a photo of the coin. The coin belonged to a colleague of Volterri, who inherited it from a relative. He used it as a paperweight - pressed down the paper, because the coin weighed 1.3 kg.

The coin itself is made of bronze, with a diameter of more than 10 cm. The thickness of the product is 3 cm. On the obverse there is a two-faced god Janus, and on the reverse side is a ship's nose.

A colleague of the scientist noted that the coin came from the area where the volcano Vesuvius is located in the IV - III centuries. BC. However, it is impossible to establish the exact date and place of creation. The only decryption can be found in the very images minted on the coin.

It turned out that the coin has a copy, which in the 1930s was presented to the Roman Museum by Benito Mussolini, but it was not exhibited in the exhibits, because they could not give an answer regarding the origin.