Archaeological Museum of Bologna

From the early emissions of the 7th century BC, on the coins, frequently appears representations of animals, often made with great fidelity and realism.
They are present both on the Greek and Roman coinage, are taken up in the emissions of the italian mints and also in the medalism production. Are not depicted only the most known animals or really existing, but also fabulous animals, related to mythology.
The representations of pets are frequent, but there are also pastoral scenes, like the cow suckling her calf, or taken from the animal life: the lion biting the deer, eagles that devour a hare, etc.
Many animals are sacred to the divinity of the city that issues the currency, such as the owl for Athena, or become the symbol of the city and its coinage, like the turtle on emissions of Aegina and the Pegasus on those of Corinth. In the Roman coins the representations of animals are rather frequent, beginning from the type that commemorates the birth of Rome, with the she-wolf suckling the twins.