DR-286 | Crawford: 312/1
Caius Sulpicius
Caius Sulpicius

Gens: Sulpicia
Moneyer: Caius Sulpicius
Date and mint: 106 BC - Rome


Obverse: Laureate heads of the Penate Gods, left. Dotted border.
Legend: D P P
Symbols: Reverse above, control mark

Reverse: Two male figures standing, facing each other, each holding a spear in their left hand and with their right pointing at the sow between them. Dotted border.
Legend: C SVLPICI C F

Comment: The denarius of Gaius Sulpicius was minted in Rome in 106 BC. by a member of the Sulpicia gens, a patrician family that had already provided consuls and magistrates to the Republic. The coiner's full name appears on the reverse as C. Sulpicius C. f., which identifies him as the son of Gaius.

The obverse represents the laureate heads of the Penates Gods, protectors of the home and guarantors of the prosperity of Roma, accompanied by the legend D P P (Di Penates Publici). Its inclusion refers to the ancestral tradition and the domestic cult that the Republic elevated to a symbol of common identity.

The reverse shows a very unique scene: two armed young men, standing facing each other, with the spear in their left hand and the right hand extended towards a sow located between them. The image alludes to the legend of Aeneas after his arrival in Italy. According to tradition, the Penates announced to him that he should found a new city in the place where he found a white sow with thirty piglets. When this omen occurred, Aeneas performed the sacrifice of the sow and, following the divine command, founded the city of Lavinio, considered the cradle of the Roman people.

This scene, closely linked to the cult of the Penates that appear on the obverse, reinforces the connection between the gens Sulpicia and the founding myths of Roma. The inscription C SVLPICI C F identifies the magistrate as Gaius Sulpicio, son of Gaius, who with this coin was linked to divine protection and the legitimacy of the origins of the Republic.

The message is clear: the Sulpicia gens links its memory with the mythical origins of Roma and with the Penates, underlining the continuity between Trojan tradition, family worship and the protection of the Republic.

Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica (2023)
Price: 1,845 €