40
Superb Portraiture of the Consul Coelius Caldus
3059
P. Fonteius P. f. Capito. Silver Denarius
(3.96 g), 55 BC.
Rome. P FONTEIUS P F
CAPITO III VIR, helmeted and draped bust
of Mars right, trophy over shoulder.
Reverse:
(MN) FO(NT) TR MIL, soldier on horseback
rearing right, thrusting his spear at a Gallic
enemy who is about to slay an unarmed per-
son; to lower right, helmet and shield. Craw-
ford 429/1; Sydenham 900; Fonteia 17.
Rare
.
An incredible example, boldly struck and
well centered. Attractively toned with light
iridescense on both sides.
Superb Extremely
Fine.
The reverse commemorates a valorous deed
of one Manius Fonteius, but the precise cir-
cumstances are lost to us. Both Crawford
and Harl suggest he may have served under
another ancestor, Marcus Fonteius, who was
governor of GalliaNarbonesis from76-73 BC.
Estimated
Value
$2,500
-
3,000
Ex Elsen 93 (15 September 2007), 754.
3060
C. Coelius Caldus. Silver Denarius (3.97 g), 53 BC.
Rome. C COEL CALDVS, COS below, head of the consul C. Coelius Caldus right;
behind, tablet inscribed L D.
Reverse:
CALDVS III VIR, radiate head of Sol right; behind, oval shield; before, round shield. Crawford
437/1a; Sydenham 891; Coelia 4. Boldly struck and unusually well centered for this rare issue. A superb example and lustrous. Both por-
traits are outstanding!
Nearly Mint State.
C. Coelius Caldus issued two coin types during his tenure as moneyer, and both depict on the obverse the head of his namesake
ancestor who was the first of his family to attain the consulship. Toynbee noted the extremely realistic rendering of the portrait
and thought it must have been based on an original portrait (J. M. C. Toynbee, Roman Historical Portraits, p. 21). In Rome, nobles
were entitled to display images (imagines) of ancestors in the atrium of the family house, and these were either sculptures, more
often, death masks molded directly from the face of the deceased. The superb lifelike rendering of the portrait of the consul C.
Coelius Caldus on this coin indicates that perhaps his death mask served as the model used by the die engravers for this issue.
Estimated Value.............................................................................................................................................................................. $4,000 - 5,000
Ex NAC 45 (2 April 2008), 14; Triton I (2-3 December 1997), 1200.
