The Gens Fonteii originated from Tusculum in Latium, a region of Italy. Tusculum was an important center of the cult of the Dioscuri, the divine twins Castor and Pollux. After the defeat of the Tarquinians at Lake Regillus around 496 (where, as legend had it, the twins plaid a decisive part in the victory of the Romans), Tusculum became an alley of Rome. Around 380 BC, it received Roman citizenship.
Coins from moneyers of the Gens Fonteii often featured the heads of the Dioscuri. On this coin the brothers are shown as a single Janiform head. Gaius Fonteius, the man responsible for this issue, held the office of a moneyer in the years 114 and 113 BC. His name appears in abbreviated form as C. FONT on the reverse, beneath a galley with a captain and rowers at their oars.