The Villa Publica

260, Lot: 451. Estimate $100. Sold for $130. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

P. Fonteius P.f. Capito. 55 BC. Fourrée(?) Denarius (17mm, 2.54 g, 12h). Rome mint. Diademed and veiled head of Concordia right / The Villa Publica: building consisting of two stories, each with a row of columns. Crawford 429/2a; Sydenham 901; Didia 1 = Fonteia 18. VF, toned, porous. No apparent breaks, but the light weight suggests the coin may be a fourrée.

Built to house the censor’s records, the Villa Publica was situated on Rome’s Campus Martius, west of the city proper.