It's been 2,067 years since Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated by his supposed friends in the Roman Senate, but the drama of that event, immortalized by Shakespeare, still captivates us today. JULIUS CAESAR, 49-44 BC AR Denarius (18.91mm, 3.53g, 12h) Struck late February to early March, 44 BC Rome mint Obverse: CAESAR DICT PERPETVO, wreathed head of Julius Caesar right Reverse: L·BVCA, fasces and winged caduceus in saltire; axe, clasped hands, and globe in three quarters References: RRC 480/6, RCV 1409 Toned. A scarce, late-lifetime portrait denarius of Julius Caesar. Caesar received the title of Dictator Perpetuo (Dictator for Life) in February of 44 BC; this coin would have been struck mere weeks before his assassination on the Ides of March that same year. Post your coins related to this history-changing event!
FWIW: Actually... I think 2067 is the correct number. (There was not a year '0'.) Here's my best representative of the event: The Caesarians. Julius Caesar (as Dictator). AR Denarius. Moneyor: L. Aemilius Buca. Rome mint. February-March 44 BC. Obv.: Wreathed head of Caesar, right; (C)AESAR before, DICT PERPE(TVO) behind; dotted border. Rev.: Venus Victrix standing left, holding Victory in outstretched right hand and vertical scepter in left; L • BVCA downwards behind. Graffiti in left field. Diam.: 17.2mm. Weight: 4.05 gr. Die Axis: 12h. Attrib.: Sydenham 1061; Crawford 480/8; RSC 23.
The only Imperatorial coin I have at the moment is this as of Sextus Pompeius Magnus, the son of Pompey the Great. He and his brother Gnaeus fought many battles against the Caesarians, both before and after the Ides of March. Sextus was on the winning side of those battles, but eventually on the losing side of the conflict between Octavian and Antony. This coin is pretty worn, but it's decipherable and has a nice patina... Sextus Pompeius Magnus Æ As, 30mm, 26.4g, 12h; Sicily, circa 42-38. Obv.: MAGN; Laureate Janiform head of Pompey the Great. Rev. PIVS; Prow right; below, IMP. Ref.: Sydenham 1044. Crawford 479/1. Naville Auction 68 Lot 322.
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.
Julius Caesar was a Roman general that rose to political prominence after forming a powerful Triumvirate with the richest man in Rome, Marcus Licinius Crassus,......... and Rome's greatest living general, Pompey "The Great" Magnus. Caesar was made consul in 59 BC and steamrolled the Senate with Populares (support of ordinary people) ideals, which upset the Optimate (support of aristocrats) leaning senators. Caesar then became governor of Gaul and Illyricum, where he used his legions to invade and conquer additional lands to the north. This made Caesar a hero among the people, but the Senate and Pompey (Crassus had been killed in battle) began fearing his accumulating power. Pompey was made consul in 52 BC as an emergency measure, and orders were issued for Caesar to return to Rome and face trial for unlawful war-making actions. Instead, Caesar and his top general, Mark Antony, marched south with the solitary 13th Legion, crossed the Rubicon, and took control of Rome. Pompey and much of the Senate had fled Rome prior to Caesar's arrival, but Pompey was subsequently defeated by Caesar at Pharsalus, at which point he fled to Egypt. After being appointed dictator and settling matters in Rome Caesar set out for Egypt to track down Pompey, but found that Pompey has been killed by the child pharaoh Ptolemy XIII when he was presented with his friend's head upon arrival. Caesar managed to meet and impregnate Ptolemy's sister and wife, Cleopatra while in Egypt. Caesar returned to Rome to resume his role as dictator, where he pardoned the senators that had betrayed him and allowed them to return as well. The Senate eventually began to fear Caesar's increasingly dictatorial, populares, self-aggrandizing behavior and calling themselves the "Liberatores", hatched a plan to murder the "Tyrant" on the Ides of March. Caesar had become warry of such a plan and had been persuaded by his wife not to attend the Senate session that day. However, he was convinced to attend by his former general and supposed good friend Decimus Brutus (Brutus' cousin and fellow Liberatore) who offered to personally escort him and ensure his safety. (Coin commissioned by Decimus, but bust is Consul Aulus Albinus) Caesar was murdered with concealed daggers on the Senate floor by the Liberatores. Among them, Marcus Junius Brutus, a man that Caesar had loved like a son (some even suspect that he actually was his son). (Busts represent Brutus' ancestors, but I like to think that the obverse was his likeness )
Beautiful! He makes great replicas. I got the mintage number from Landis's website, but I think mine came from a later re-run with sharpened dies so the number might be higher. Either way, it's at least as rare as the real thing!
Excellent coins and historical notes, Cherd! Thanks for adding more perspective. Somehow I forgot to post my own portrait denarius of Caesar's former ally, son-in-law, and greatest enemy. Not nearly as nice as yours, but here it is! SEXTUS POMPEY Son of Pompey the Great, c. 45-35 BC AR Denarius (18.10mm, 3.31g, 11h) Struck 42-40 BC. Sicily mint Obverse: MAG • PIVS • IMP • ITER, bare head of Pompey the Great right, jug behind, lituus in front Reverse: Neptune standing left, holding aplustre and resting right foot on prow, between the Catanaean brothers Anapias and Amphinomus, each bearing one of his parents on shoulders References: Crawford 511/3a, RCV 1392 Poor surfaces but a decent portrait of Pompey. Or if you want a possible lifetime portrait of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, there's this one: CILICIA, POMPEIOPOLIS AE (21.66mm, 5.94g, 11h) Struck after 66 BC Obverse: Bare head of Pompey the Great right Reverse: ΠΟΜΠΗΙΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ, Nike advancing right, holding palm in left hand and wreath in right; to right, two monograms References: cf. SNG BnF 1213-17; cf. SNG Levante 882 Olive green patina with some edge chips. A possible lifetime portrait of the great imperator.
My JC portrait denarius is too execrable and embarrassing to bother to show. My not super terrible elephant isn't photographed. Other than the usual figurative backstabbing at work today, those were the only knives in evidence, thankfully. It was a literal poopshow, as an overhead toilet pipe exploded in the hallway. There's some really enviable coins shown. Meat man's JC is quite pleasant. The Sextus Pompey is a nice type. Mine is fairly comparable, but a 1990's buy, and thus not photographed.
JC fading away after he's been assassinated ... JULIUS CAESAR and OCTAVIAN – Halved dupondius, Vienna (Gaul), ca. 36 BCE •IM[P• DIVI•IVL•CAESAR•DIVI•F] bare headed portraits of Julius Caesar to left and [Octavian to right] [C•I]•V Prow of galley to right, surmounted by superstructure and mast (CIV for Colonia Ivlia Viennensis) 33 mm – 10,58 gr Ref : RPC # 517 Q
Here's all I've got. I've tried to get a nice Julius Caesar portrait coin that was struck when he was alive, but the auction gods would let me get it. This was struck 11 months after his death. and Julius Caesar had those struck to pay his soldiers.
The present known population of EID MAR denarii is somewhere around 100 specimens. It's not an extremely rare type.
