Found and won a Julius Caesar lifetime denarius, at last!

lordmarcovan · June 23, 2024 7:54AM

Well, at long last, after coming up short time and time again at auction, I finally won my desired Julius Caesar denarius, for €300 below my max bid.

It checks off all my major criteria.

Lifetime issue from 44 BC? ✅

Caesar's name clear on the flan? ✅ (his titles are there too)

Decent portrait? ✅

No major problems apparent? ✅

Fine or better? ✅

OK, so it's got a somewhat irregular flan- some might even say "ragged"- but I can definitely live with that. Oh, and there’s a banker’s mark, too. But that’s not an issue, as far as I’m concerned.

Now I lack only Vitellius to complete my Twelve Caesars collection. 😃

I won it in Elsen Auction 159, Lot 278.

.

291fifth · June 23, 2024 9:17AM

Are you certain it is from his lifetime. I seem to recall that the veiled head varieties were struck after his death as memorial items.

Many years back, when I had a complete set of the 12 my Julius Caesar example had the veiled head. (I wish I still had the set!)

bidask · June 23, 2024 9:57AM

congratulation !

John Conduitt · June 23, 2024 10:11AM

@291fifth said:
Are you certain it is from his lifetime. I seem to recall that the veiled head varieties were struck after his death as memorial items.

Many years back, when I had a complete set of the 12 my Julius Caesar example had the veiled head. (I wish I still had the set!)

I believe this is him as pontifex maximus, not posthumous. (Constantine I's veiled coins are indeed posthumous).

lordmarcovan · June 23, 2024 2:38PM

@291fifth said:
Are you certain it is from his lifetime. I seem to recall that the veiled head varieties were struck after his death as memorial items.

Many years back, when I had a complete set of the 12 my Julius Caesar example had the veiled head. (I wish I still had the set!)

Yes, this issue is from 44 BC, just before his assassination.

asheland · June 23, 2024 3:31PM

Very cool! Congratulations!

TheGoonies1985 · June 23, 2024 4:13PM

Congrats!!!

291fifth · June 23, 2024 7:05PM

I wonder if the one I had was also from that period? I'll never know since I have no photo of the coin.

Eddi · June 23, 2024 11:15PM

I think you"ve got it all there. It has a a full bust, and Caesar"s, as well as Macer"s name are both legible.
Yes, the planchet is a bit rugged, but from what I have read, striking issues in that hectic month before Caesar"s death are to be expected.
Actually, your coin looks quite appealing, in my opinion.
It wasn"t cheap, though...I hope you don"t have to pay import taxes (like we do in EU).

(My own example was bought about 15 years ago (Muenzen Peus). I paid Eur 295 + comission.
My coin was unevently struck, and look at the planchet.... But, as far as I am concerned that just adds to the historic appeal).

lordmarcovan · June 24, 2024 12:31AM

@Eddi said:
I think you"ve got it all there. It has a a full bust, and Caesar"s, as well as Macer"s name are both legible.
Yes, the planchet is a bit rugged, but from what I have read, striking issues in that hectic month before Caesar"s death are to be expected.
Actually, your coin looks quite appealing, in my opinion.
It wasn"t cheap, though...I hope you don"t have to pay import taxes (like we do in EU).

(My own example was bought about 15 years ago (Muenzen Peus). I paid Eur 295 + comission.
My coin was unevently struck, and look at the planchet.... But, as far as I am concerned that just adds to the historic appeal).

You definitely bought yours at the right time. €295 would be impossible for a lifetime Caesar now, I’m sure! Especially for one so relatively attractive as yours.

Prices have gone way up.

The last time I owned one, a decade ago, I came in just under $500 USD. It was a VG with multiple banker’s marks, and while it had most of Caesar’s name on the flan, it lacked the eye appeal of my new purchase.

My old (2014) example, from my first 12 Caesars collection:

€1,400 for the latest one is a lot of money, but I daresay I got it for a lot less in the Belgian Jean Elsen auction than I likely would have on American venues like CNG, Heritage, Stacks Bowers, et al. Prices of recent pieces I bid on seemed crazy high. I was consistently outbid- and by very wide margins indeed. Sometimes even 2-3x!

PS- I kind of like the quirky flan on yours. And though it’s flatly struck, that’s a nice portrait. And the name is very bold and clear! Yours is obviously higher grade than my new one.