Art Institute of Chicago

Denarius (Coin) Portraying Marcus Claudius Marcellus

Roman, minted in Rome

Date

50-49 BCE, issued by Roman Republic, P. Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (moneyer)

Medium

Silver

Culture

Rome

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The purpose of the first portrait coins was to identify the ruler. The front side became a mirror of the sovereign’s self-image. The back was often used to communicate the ruler’s accomplishments or intentions. The profile portrait was used because it suited the very shallow depth and limited surface of the coin. The tiny images were carved by engravers into bronze dies, one for the front and another for the back. The coins were then struck, one by one, in a process similar to how modern coins are created today. Portraits as Publicity Coins were an efficient form of publicity, particularly when new rulers needed to legitimize their succession or strengthen their reputation. Forbidden by Roman law to picture a living person on coinage, the politician Marcellinus pictured his famous ancestor Marcellus.

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