Personifications of abstract values

Deities did not only represent places on coins, but also certain moral values. Coin #112 is a prime example of a Roman virtue extolled on a denarius: Pietas, the goddess representing piety or religious observance, stands in the center of the coin with an arc of letters above her. The inscription, PIETAS AVG, is Latin for “revered piety,” showing exactly how highly ancient Romans valued their virtues. Other prized qualities, such as Libertas (liberty), Pax (peace), and Spes (hope) commonly appear on Roman denarii from both the Republican and Imperial periods, like coins #105, #106, and #107 respectively.