When collectors talk about collecting the 12 Caesar's, does that refer to a specific type of coin or anything that is associated with that Caesar? Is it just a Denarius or does it have to have a image of the Caesar on it? Thanks for the clarification help.
I think traditionally it would be Denarius, but you could do the 12 in any metal including gold. A matter of money.
You can do a 12 Caesars, how ever you want. Mine is a mix of metals/denominations. I'm happy with it. The most expensive was the portrait Julius Caesar, it was more than all the other coins combined, but I don't regret it. I prefer tetradrachms, but some didn't issue any or I didn't include it in the photo, like Vitellius I have. I also have a silver Drachm of Caligula, but use the bronze, since it's larger.
My approach was similar to @Mat 's, I just tried to get one of each. Most ended up being denarii, but there are a few Asses thrown in there as well (There are definitely some asses in the group, but talking about the coin denominations ). I'd provide a picture, but I'm still missing Augustus A lot of people probably like to go for all denarii, solidi, or whatever because consistency would bring the set together from an aesthetics perspective. But, I'm pretty sure that there's never been a significant portion of the community that thought something like, "It's not a 12 Caesars set unless they are all X"! Unless you have deep pockets, Caligula in particular is a bit of a roadblock to doing all denarii, and Julius Caesar, Otho, and Claudius are also no walk in the park. Nice bust coins of these guys in other denominations can be had for an order of magnitude less money.
If I were to do the twelve Caesars, I'd do whatever's cheapest in terms of denomination. However, I'm doing Nerva-Commodus right now and going for all denarii. I personally like the uniform look, but for the more expensive emperors (such as the twelve caesars) that's thrown out the window.
There definitely some who more closely define a "set". Many with deeper pockets insist on a denarii set, all portrait and a lifetime Caesar. Makes the set much more expensive, but I know a couple of collectors who define it this way. That, however, to me is the beauty of ancient collecting since we don't have coin books where others define what we need to collect. You do you, you collect what and in the way you wish because our corner of the market is much more open than US collecting. Most of us do not have the "need" of a 1909 S VDB cent or 1916 D dime hanging over our heads. Collect and enjoy what you feel like.
There are no rules! Ultimately we collect for ourselves, and no two collections can be the exact same. So do it your way! Some rulers are much more accessible than others, so it might not be a bad idea to pick up some cheaper examples from the rarer rulers. After all, there is no book saying you must NEVER upgrade. Just my thoughts, Evan
That is one of the advantages of collecting ancient coins--there are no rules. Collect what you like. There are perhaps 100,000 different ancient-coin types (not including minor varieties) and you obviously can't get them all. I can think of many potential themes (I listed some here: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/catalogs/themes.html under the page name "What should I collect?") "The Twelve Caesars" is a common theme (because of the book of that title written by the ancient author Seutonius). But I bet there are many collectors who got distracted by other interesting coins long before completing that set. By the way, you could do it with 11 coins if you had this one: It has both Vespasian and Titus. It is a large Syrian tetradrachm, 24-23 mm and 14.67 grams. It is from year 2 of Vespasian, 69/70 AD (Do you see the B with a bar above it in front of the neck of Titus?) McAlee 331. Prier 109. RPC II 1944.
Looks like Claudius to me! From the looks of it, @Bing 's Caligula has Augustus on the reverse, and I've seen similar coins with Nero and Claudius. There's yet another interesting collection to pursue....... 12 Caesars with the fewest possible coins!
Any Claudius brass where you can see any hairlines is better than a VG. By the way I think William Shakespeare answered your question. As you like it.
