Quincunx (Roman coin)

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A quincunx of Larinum
Bearded head of Mars, wearing Corinthian helmet [L]ADINOD, warrior on horseback galloping left; five pellets in exergue.
Circa 210-175 BC. Æ 22mm - 7.95 g.

The quincunx was an Ancient Roman bronze coin produced during the Roman Republic. The word quincunx comes from Latin "quinque" which means "five" and "uncia" which means "one twelfth", because the coin was valued at five-twelfths of an as (a libra), or five unciae. This value was sometimes symbolized by a patterns of five dots arranged like the points of a die, so this pattern also came to be called quincunx. It was only produced during the Second Punic War (218 to 204 BC). It was not part of the standard Roman monetary system and was produced by mints at Luceria (mod. Lucera), Teate (mod. Chieti), Larinum (mod. Larino), and northern Apulia.

A coin with the same value was minted in Capua, during the Second Punic War, after the defeat of Cannae

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