Anonymous AE Semuncia, c. 217-215 BC
Anonymous. AE Semuncia (20 mm, 6.30 g), Rome, 217-215 BC. AE semuncia.
Obv. Head of Mercury to right, wearing winged petasus.
Rev. Prow of galley right. Craw. 38/7. aVF Arkesteijn collection
The corvus (crow's beak) was a special ramp on a rotating platform at the prow of a Roman warship, used for grappling and boarding an enemy vessel. On this coin it appears as a platform lying flat against the foredeck, but as the ship approached the enemy it could be raised via block and tackle, and lowered with great force onto the opposing ship, an iron spike securing it to the deck. It was used with great success in the First Punic War; as the Carthaginians were much more experienced seafarers, the Roman employment of the corvus turned the naval contest into a "land war on the sea" and evened the odds.