A couple of Julius Caesar denarii
BillJones
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Julius Caesar was the first of “The Twelve Caesars” who were covered in a book by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (a.k.a. Suetonius) who was the emperor Hadrian’s secretary. Technically Julius Caesar was a dictator and the 11 men who succeeded him were emperors.
Here is coin which has a portrait of Julius Caesar on it. Finding coins with a Julius Caesar portrait is not easy. Most of his coins featured Venus or some other god instead.
This piece has Mark Anthony (Cleopatra's husband or lover depending on your point of view) on the obverse and Julius Caesar on the reverse. It was struck 11 months after Caesar was assassinated. Anthony's army was on the run from the forces loyal to the Roman Senate at the time.
Julius Caesar was a cult figure by this, and his supporters claimed that he had become a god. There was a comet in the sky to bolster their claims. The comet was Caesar headed for the heavens, and they even produced coins that featured an image of it.
The upside is that this coin is beautifully preserved. Grading as you might a U.S. coin, it's an AU. The downside is that it was struck off-center, which takes quite a few dollars off the value.
Here is the most common coin that was made when Julius Caesar was alive. There are several varieties of this elephant denarius. These coins were made from silver that Julius Caesar seized from the Temple of Saturn where the Roman Government stored their precious metals and scales. He used them to pay the soldiers who supported him. There are several varieties of this design.
Comments
Yeah but the good thing about the "venus" reverses are most from his lifetime, which makes them more desirable than the after-death types.
Julius Caesar (February-March 44 B.C)
AR Denarius
Lifetime Issue
O: Wreathed head of Caesar right; CAESAR downward to right, DICT PERPETVO upward to left.
R: Venus Victrix standing left, holding Victory in outstretched right hand and vertical scepter in left; L • BVC[A] downwards to right. L. Aemilius Buca, moneyer.
Rome Mint
3.92g
17mm
Crawford 480/8; Alföldi Type XIV, 62–3, 67, and 69 (A13/R22); CRI 105; Sydenham 1061; RSC 23; RBW 1683.
You can't argue with that, but the rub comes when you try to balance "made during Caesar's lifetime," cost and quality.
Your coin is lovely & I would gladly add it to my collection. I sold my elephant denarius to put towards my current Caesar posted & have no regrets.
But for the person who collects "only 1" per type, most pick the lifetime portrait if they can afford it, or at least lifetime elephant as the cheaper route, which I did when I got into ancients in 2008.
beautifully preserved indeed !
I give away money. I collect money.
I don’t love money . I do love the Lord God.
A great pair of denarii! Adding a third- a lifetime denarius - would be a nice addition to the set, but, as Mat said, they are expensive. If you take the plunge, the DICT PERPETUO (dictator for life) varieties add some extra history.
And, an obligatory addition to the thread to make the JC coins feel uncomfortable:
The lifetime portrait Jules Caesar coins, with problems, sell for around $2,000. I am done. That’s why I bought the Marc Anthony piece.
After @SmEagle1795 has shown his wonderful EID MAR, and @bronzemat his lifetime JC, it's a bit difficult to concur. Anyway, here's a JC denarius of mine (I have a few more, but no lifetime issue I'm afraid)
Impressive coins! Back in the 1980's I had a complete set of the 12 Caesars but never had a Julius Caesar that was struck during his lifetime. I wish I still had those coins.