This coin from around 63 B.C. shows a Roman citizen about to place a voting table marked “V” (for yes) into a voting urn. There are several known examples of Roman coins celebrating the secret ballot.

The name “Civitas” is a Latin word meaning citizenship. To the Romans, the right to vote was an important aspect of citizenship.

The image is made available courtesy of the Gale Collection, Australian Centre for Ancient Numismatic Studies, Macquarie University.

[Return to Civitas]