Colonial Acres Coins
SKU: SKU:AC-0472
Ancient Roman Republic 85 BC Mn. Fonteius Silver Denarius EF-AU (EF45)
Ancient Roman Republic 85 BC Mn. Fonteius Silver Denarius EF-AU (EF45)
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Ancient Roman Republic 85 BC Mn. Fonteius Silver Denarius EF-AU (EF45)
Manius Fonteius was a Roman triumvir monetalis (moneyer) active around 85 BC during the late Roman Republic, a period marked by civil unrest following the Social War and the dominance of figures like Lucius Cornelius Sulla. He is known primarily from his silver denarius issues rather than from extensive historical records.
The coins attributed to Manius Fonteius typically feature imagery connected to Roman heritage and mythological ancestry, often emphasizing traditional Roman values and elite family lineage—common themes among Republican moneyers who used coinage to promote their gens (clan). His issues are part of the broader monetization of political identity in the late Republic, when coin designs increasingly served as a medium for family prestige and political messaging rather than purely state symbolism.
Because he is otherwise obscure in literary sources, Manius Fonteius is mainly known through numismatics, where his coins provide valuable evidence for Roman Republican iconography and the political culture of the 1st century BC.
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo facing right, with a thunderbolt below.
Reverse: Cupid seated on a goat facing right, with the pilei of the Dioscuri (conical, brimless felt caps associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek and Roman mythology, often appearing on ancient coins as a symbol of the brothers) above, the thyrus of Liber (a sacred staff, typically a fennel stalk talked with a pine cone and wrapped in ivy or vine leaves, symbolizing prosperity, fertility, and the untamed power of nature) below, all within a laurel wreath.
Specifications:
Composition: Silver
Weight: Approx. 4 g
Diameter: Approx. 19 mm
Mint: Rome
Manius Fonteius was a Roman triumvir monetalis (moneyer) active around 85 BC during the late Roman Republic, a period marked by civil unrest following the Social War and the dominance of figures like Lucius Cornelius Sulla. He is known primarily from his silver denarius issues rather than from extensive historical records.
The coins attributed to Manius Fonteius typically feature imagery connected to Roman heritage and mythological ancestry, often emphasizing traditional Roman values and elite family lineage—common themes among Republican moneyers who used coinage to promote their gens (clan). His issues are part of the broader monetization of political identity in the late Republic, when coin designs increasingly served as a medium for family prestige and political messaging rather than purely state symbolism.
Because he is otherwise obscure in literary sources, Manius Fonteius is mainly known through numismatics, where his coins provide valuable evidence for Roman Republican iconography and the political culture of the 1st century BC.
Obverse: Laureate head of Apollo facing right, with a thunderbolt below.
Reverse: Cupid seated on a goat facing right, with the pilei of the Dioscuri (conical, brimless felt caps associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek and Roman mythology, often appearing on ancient coins as a symbol of the brothers) above, the thyrus of Liber (a sacred staff, typically a fennel stalk talked with a pine cone and wrapped in ivy or vine leaves, symbolizing prosperity, fertility, and the untamed power of nature) below, all within a laurel wreath.
Specifications:
Composition: Silver
Weight: Approx. 4 g
Diameter: Approx. 19 mm
Mint: Rome
