DR-346 | Crawford: 340/1
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi

Gens: Calpurnia
Moneyer: Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi
Date and mint: 90 BC - Rome


Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo, right or left; control mark under the chin, behind or both. Border Dotted border.
Legend:
Symbols: Obverse before, control mark | Obverse behind, control mark | Reverse above, control mark | Reverse below, control mark

Reverse: Rider, right or left, with palm branch, torch or whip; control mark up, down or both. Dotted border.
Legend: L PISO FRVGI

Comment: The Calpurnia gens was one of the most influential senatorial families in the Republic, with branches that repeatedly reached the consulship. Within it, the Pisones occupied a prominent place, and Lucio Calpurnio Piso Frugi, moneyer in 90 BC, issued one of the most extensive and varied series of all republican numismatics.

The issue takes place during the outbreak of the social war, a conflict that forced Roma to mint enormous amounts of currency to cover military expenses. The diversity of dies, control marks and small iconographic changes in this series responds precisely to that need for mass production.

The obverse shows the laureate head of Apollo, on the right or left, accompanied by different control marks located under the chin, behind or in both places. Apollo, god of light and prophecy, evoked order, harmony and divine protection in a time of crisis.

The reverse represents a desultor, a rider-acrobat of circus games. In competitions, these athletes rode two horses and jumped from one to the other in the middle of the race, but in the Piso Frugi denarii the figure is simplified and is represented with a single horse, carrying attributes such as a palm, a torch or a whip. The Roman public, familiar with the spectacle, recognized in the image the skill of the deserter, a symbol of agility and triumph. The legend L PISO FRVGI identifies the magistrate.

The propaganda message seems clear: in times of social war, Roma was not only strong militarily, but also skilled and capable of overcoming any difficulty with the help of the gods and the skill of its men. The abundance and variety of this series make the Piso Frugi denarii one of the most significant examples of republican numismatics as a means of political and social propaganda.

Provenance: Numismatica Ars Classica (2021)
Price: 5,934 €