I've had thoughts along the same line but I just can't do it now. I know that once I begin it will become an obsession and I'll likely spare no expense to achieve it. I may scale it back a bit and try for a collection of the "Five Good Emperors."
Some budget 12-Caesars: Augustus provincial of Colonia Romula, SGI 189: Caligula provincial of Carthago Nova, SGI 419: Claudius tetradrachm from Alexandria: Claudius and Agrippina II provincial from Bosporos: A couple of Alexandrian Tetradrachms of Nero and wives: Domitian and Domitia on a provincial of Larissa in Thessaly:
Been thinking about this. I like the idea of doing a denarius set, but I also really enjoy collecting coins that you can't just go out and buy, and have to hunt for. Maybe bronze would be more suitable? If it'd end up costing less than the $8-12k for a silver set, that would be totally manageable. Anybody got a bronze set to show or some hints on collecting them? I think I'd like to stick within imperial coinage.
For imperial mints, neither Julius Caesar nor Otho is available in bronze. The fun part of bronzes is that their size allows for a bigger canvas on which to illustrate the engraver's artistry, and are also fun to hold due to their additional weight. Here's a set of 12 Caesars small bronzes (as or dupondius): Asses: Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vitellius, Domitian Dupondii: Augustus (?), Tiberius, Galba, Vespasian, Titus