The gens Domitia featured many illustrious historical individuals. The most prominent branches of the family were the Ahenobarbi and Calvini - the common praenomen Cnaeus Domitius, used by members from both branches, occurs frequently on coinage from the second century BC on. Indirect allusion to ancestral achievement was typical of the period during which this denarius was minted - the reverse type of the moneyer could recall the ancestral victories of the Calvini, for instance, the Cn. Domitius Maximus (dictator 280 BC) who was also victorious against the Boii and Etruscans; or the Cn. Domitius who had fought against Antiochus the Great in 190 BC; and Cn. Domitius the conqueror of the Etruscan town Luna after 240 BC.

Below the horses a man, probably a gladiator, is depicted fighting a lion. Whereas Roman depictions of lions on coins are usually confined to military issues as an indication of bravery as virtue, the fight scene on the reverse is similar in type to that found on 'gladiator coins' - coins issued by contemporary moneyers, all displaying either wild animals, gladiatorial scenes or motifs that allude to corn distribution scenes. This particular fight scene, together with the corn-ear on the obverse, could refer to the promise of a corn distribution and games offered by an aedile aspiring to the consulship. In a political sense this type links ancestral accomplishment with personal achievement and foreshadows the reappearance of personal coin types after 124 BC.

Obv. Helmeted head of Roma, corn-ear behind, crossed X under chin, border of dots.
Rev. Winged Victory driving a biga, holding reins and whip, below the horses a man fights a lion, ROMA above, CN. DOM. in ex.