143/1. Maenia - as (189-180 BC)

AE As (Rome, 189-180 BC)

O/ Laureate Head of Janus; I above.

R/ Prow right; shield and MAE above; I before; ROMA below.

38.91g; 34mm

Crawford 143/1 (4 specimens in Paris)

Quintus Maenius:

The plebeian gens Maenia was of minor importance as only one member reached the consulship.  Two of the Maenii were nonetheless praetors in the first half of the second century: Gaius in 180 BC, and Quintus in 170 (Livy, xliii. 4, 6, 8).  The latter might have been our moneyer.

The meaning of shield is unknown, but it might refer to an event of the Macedonian Wars, as it somewhat looks like a Greek shield.

Collezione : Roman Republic