Crawford 312/1, Roman Republic, 106 BC., moneyer Caius Sulpicius Galba, Denarius serratus

Roman Republic (Rome mint 106 BC.), moneyer Caius Sulpicius Galba.
Denarius serratus (18-18,5 mm, 3,85 g), silver, axis irregular alignment ?? (ca. 320°),
Obv.: D.P.P (abbreviation of Dei Penates Publici) , before jugate, laureate heads of the Dei Penates facing left .
Rev.: C. SVLPICI. C. F. “Caius Sulpicius Caii Filius”, (Caius Sulpicius son of Caius). Two male figures standing facing each other, each holding spear in l. hand and with r. hand pointing at sow which lies between them (two soldiers swearing oath ?); above, control mark C (or ? ?).
C. Crawford 312/1 . Syd. 572 . Bab. Sulpicia 1 .

For this type Crawford estimated 110 obverse dies and 137 reverse dies.

The reverse of this coin shows the sow that led Aeneas to the place, where he founded Lavinium, the mother city of Alba Longa. According to the prophecy, in the place where a white sow casts 30 piglets under an oak tree, a new city shall be built (Lavinium); also, a new city called after the white sow shall be built by Ascanius 30 years later (Alba Longa).
The cult of the Penates was closely connected with Lavinium as the Romans believed that these godheads were brought first to Lavinium by Aeneas before they came to Rome. The monetary type relates to Lavinium where the gens Sulpicia originated. Aeneas, fleeing Troy and arriving in Latium, would have deposited his Penates in Lavinium. These deities associated with Vesta protected the hearth of the house. They were often represented by two statues of seated young people which were kept in a temple on the Velia in Rome. They were also responsible for ensuring that Rome was supplied under the Republic.
Penates were both personal and public gods, and this obverse emphasizes that these are the public form, "Dei Penates Publici", as it would be quite unusual to emphasize the private aspect of household gods. The Penates belonged to the original gods of Rome and were not imported from the Etruscans or Greeks. The original Roman religion personified all events connected with growing, harvesting and processing the products of the field. The Penates were responsible for protecting the larder in the house of every family. There also existed Penates for the whole of Rome, "Dei Penates Publici". They were kept at the temple of Vesta together with the palladium, the statue of Athena coming from Troy, and the holy fire. Only once a year, on June 9, the married women in Rome were allowed to see them. They came barefoot on that day to sacrifice fruits and cake.

The control marks on the reverse are usually Latin letters, but some are absent: B, E, G, H, M, O, and X.

In 108 BC. Servius Sulpicius Galba had been consul. He was related to this moeyer.
The gens Sulpicia, originally from Lavinium, claimed to go back to Aeneas, but did not appear in consular splendor until the beginning of the Republic with Servius Sulpicius Camarinus in 500 BC. Emperor Galba (68-69 ) also belonged to the prestigious gens Sulpicii. The Sulpicii gens eventually culminated (and terminated) with the emperor Galba.