Obverse: Helmeted head of Roma right,
monogram below chin, LAECA behind
Reverse: Jupiter in quadriga right, crowned by
Victory flying above, M. PORC below horses,
ROMA in exergue
The bust of the goddess Roma, with its winged
helmet, is a popular obverse type during the
Republican period. The helmet itself is
reminiscent of Hellenistic and Roman helmets of
the time period, categorized by scholars as the
Italo-Attic type. Officers and deities are often
depicted as wearing this helmet long after such a
design had gone into general disuse by the
military. As such, it continued to be employed
as a symbol connected with deities and heroic
figures of the past. The moneyer is a
descendant of the praetor, P. Porcius Laeca, who
is credited for the Lex Porcia de Provocatione, a
law that limited the abuses of military
magistrates against Roman citizens.
Crawdord 270/1. RSC Porcia 3