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2005, Proceedings of the 4th International Numismatic Congress in Croatia (Stari Grad, 20-25 September 2004), Rijeka 2005, 225–242.
The origin of the victoriatus as it has been cited by literary sources (“ex Illyrico advectus”, “peregrinus nummus”) is re-examined through numismatic evidence, based especially on metrological data and coin circulation. One point can be made by the rather puzzling fact that the presence of victoriati in coin hoards and stray finds is minimal in the present-day Balkan Peninsula. Moreover, it is argued that the introduction of the victoriatus has to be viewed more closely in historical context, associated to a specific turning point of the Second Punic War ―the fall of Capua in 211 BC. Applying a revised interpretation to the victoriate coin series sheds new light upon the paucity of the finds in the area across the Adriatic Sea, alongside with the eventual abandonment of production (ca. 170-165 BC). The relaunch from the late 2nd century BC onwards of victoriate issues denoting another monetary denomination (quinarius or half-denarius) provides further understanding, gained with the assistance of literary and epigraphical testimony. Furthermore, the circumstances under which a certain rare issue of Roman victoriati and quinarii was struck at Corcyra (RRC 101) are viewed within a broader set of events and a new chronology is proposed for this emission (ca. 199 BC).