C. Hosidius C. f. Geta, 64 BC. AR Denarius

C. Hosidius C. f. Geta, 64 BC. AR Denarius (17 mm, 4.00 g, 6 h). Rome mint.

Obv. GETA – III•VIR. Diademed and draped bust of Diana right, bow and quiver over shoulder.

Rev. C•HOSIDI C•F. Boar advancing right, transfixed by a spear and attacked by a hound.

Refs. Babelon Hosidia 1; Crawford 407/2; Sydenham 903; RBW 1456.

Struck by C. Hosidius Geta while serving as one of the tresviri monetales in 64 BC, this denarius deploys a forceful hunting iconography. The obverse presents Diana, the divine patroness of the chase, in her huntress guise with bow and quiver; the reverse dramatizes a boar-hunt at its climax, the beast already wounded and harried by a dog. In Republican coinage, such scenes typically functioned as family self-advertisement: either evoking a legendary exploit of an ancestor, a celebrated venatio, or a claim of favor from Diana (whose cult—especially at Aricia—was rich in hunting lore). The pairing of Diana with the boar also resonates with broader mythic tradition (the perils of the boar and the protection—or wrath—of the goddess), making the type both prestigiously Hellenic and pointedly Roman.

Numismatically, the type is among the more vivid “venatic” reverses of the late Republic, its compact composition lending itself to crisp die-engraving: the bristling ridge of the boar’s back, the embedded spear, and the lunging hound convey momentum and danger with economical detail. The clear moneyer legends on both sides ground the imagery in contemporary politics, advertising the Hosidia name within Rome’s fiercely competitive electoral culture on the eve of the Catilinarian crisis.