As one of the more unusual Roman Republican coins, it is perhaps not unexpected that this denarius of  T. Carisius has seen shifting interpretations as to its meaning. The most common assumption is that Carisius meant to evoke The city of Gergis in Troas, near the site of ancient Troy, and was said to be the birthplace of Sibyl Herophile, a priestess with prophetic powers as well as a sphinx, the symbol of prophecy on the reverse. This was due to the fact that Julius Caesar, his patron, claimed descent from the Trojan prince Aeneas. However, more recently, Woytek (Arma et Nummi, 2003) claims that the sphinx was chosen based on a ring seal belonging to Caesar. Another possible motive as to why Carisius chose this design is that it was a possibly a punning allusion to the, now unknown, moneyer.

Regardless, as this is the only depiction of a sphinx in the Republican denarius series, this type will undoubtedly remain the subject of study for years to come!