![]() ![]() This bronze quadrans circa 9 BC provides an example. In support of the new peace, Rome’s mints once again produced coins that depicted clasped hands holding a caduceus. As a result, the people of Rome, accustomed to fighting their way to riches and glory, now faced the unusual prospect of relative peace. He proceeded to buffer Rome against competitor states by negotiation and establishment of client kingdoms. Octavian eventually proved the victor, and he became known as Augustus, the ruler who transformed Rome into an Empire. Despite the numismatic gesture, the battle for Rome’s supremacy was destined to continue. Such imagery must have been particular impactful at a time when Rome was challenged by civil war and an uncertain future.Īfter Caesar’s murder, his followers Octavian and Marc Antony incorporated the meme of clasped hands holding a caduceus on denarii that also featured Concordia, ancient Rome’s divine personifications of concord. Whereas clasped hands symbolized peace and harmony, the caduceus represented commerce and negotiation. ![]() The first coins featuring a handshake appeared in Rome during the time of Julius Caesar, who also employed the imagery of the caduceus, the staff of Mercury (the Roman analogue of the Greek god Hermes). Indeed, the clasping of hands, dating from at least the advent of coinage, developed as a way to demonstrate that neither party held a weapon, hence a greeting to demonstrate peaceful intent. The motif invokes a sense of harmony and peace, even two millennia after its strike. ![]() This ancient coin bears the simple yet powerful image of two clasped hands holding a caduceus. ![]()
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