DR-216 | Crawford: 269/1
Caius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius
Caius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius

Gens: Caecilia
Moneyer: Caius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius
Date and mint: 125 BC - Rome


Obverse: Bust of Roma with helmet, right, with Phrygian helmet and star on the lapel. Dotted border.
Legend: ROMA
Symbols: Obverse before, x

Reverse: Jupiter, crowned by flying victory, in elephant's beam, left, holding Lightning in left and reins in right. Dotted border.
Legend: C METELLVS

Comment: Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprario, who was Legate of Scipio Aemilianus participating in the siege of Numantia in the summer of 133 BC, was Consul in 113 BC and was granted a triumph in 111 BC for his campaigns in Thrace, where he obtained the title of Imperator.
His father Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonian, who was also Consul, defeated Andriscus of Macedonia, making Macedonia a new Roman province in 146 BC, for which he was granted a triumph and the cognomen of Macedonian.
From one of the oldest and most important gens in Rome, with a large number of consuls in its history, his military career and that of his family stands out.
The reverse, where we see Jupiter crowned by Victoria leading a biga with two elephants, refers to another ancestor, who was also a consul, who captured elephants after a victory over Hasdrubal.
In addition to the popular Julius Caesar elephant denarius, the Caecilia gens is the only one to mint denarii with full-length elephants. In addition to the present one, there are two others in the years 81 and 47 BC.

Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica (2024)
Price: 7,000 €