Finally...a lifetime portrait of Julius Caesar

Some of know I have been looking for one of these for at least a year. I enlisted the help of John Anthony and Fred Shore. Alas, they could not find one in my budget range. Today I won this coin in the Artemide Aste auction out of San Marino Italy.

yes the coin has an obvious flaw-a deep scratch through the head of the portrait. Still, I really like the full legend on the obverse and I think the portrait has lots of charm to it. One bonus is that I came in way under budget (yay...more coins).

I already have 2 coins of JC. One is the elephant denarius and the other is a posthumous portrait. I believe the new acquisition is a significant upgrade over the first portrait denarius (although I still really like this coin).

Elephant



My first portrait denarius (bought from Frank Robinson)





My new acquisition



Julius Caesar. AR Denarius, 44 BC. Obv. Laureate head right; before, CAESAR IMP; behind, star of eight rays. Rev. P. SEPVLLIVS MACER. Venus standing left, holding Victory and sceptre (resting on star?). Cr. 480/3. B. (Julia) 32. AR. g. 3.68 mm. 19.00 RR. Rare. A very elegant portrait. Perfectly struck on broad flan. Areas of flatness and scratch on obverse, otherwise about VF.



Please post your coins of Julius Caesar.

 

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None to share, but a nice addition!

 

Any portrait coin of JC is a good coin. Your newest is a very nice example.

 

The lifetime portraits are my favourite ones struck for JC. I am glad to see you finally got an example ... and a nice one at that too!

 

Congrats on the acquisition, Orfew! A JC lifetime portrait denarius is an awesome coin to have and yours has a very nice portrait indeed.

JULIUS CAESAR
AR Denarius. 3.77g, 19mm. Rome mint, struck by L. Aemilius Buca, February - March 44 BC. Crawford 480/8; Sydenham 1061; RCV 1411. O: CAESAR DICT PERPETVO, wreathed head of Caesar facing right. R: L BVCA , Venus standing left, holding Victory and a sceptre.
Ex David Sellwood Collection; Ex Seaby Coin & Medal Bulletin (1 Oct 1977) Lot 793

 

Any portrait JC is a good portrait, congrats.

 

I like it , the scratch doesn't bother me much, and thanks to the scratch you probably got it way under budget, good for you ! congrats

Only have a bronze Julius , struck 6 years after his death , issued by Octavianus.

 

That's a good portrait on a well-centered coin. Congrats.

 

A very collectible coin and uncommonly well-centered.

 

Congrats on the new JC @Orfew is a great addition to your collection.

 

Congrats! As others have said, any portrait coin of Julius Caesar is a worthy and exciting purchase.

 

KILLER CAESAR @Orfew ! Nice job on that last portrait! They are very tough to capture!

Two photo perspectives of mine (Seller and ACSEARCH):


Julius Caesar and P. Sepullius Macer.
Ar Denarius March 44 BC,
19 mm. 4.1 gm.
Obv: CAESAR – DICT PERPETVO Veiled and wreathed head of Caesar r.
Rev: P·SEPVLLIVS – MACER Venus standing l., holding Victory and sceptre resting on star.
B. Julia 50 and Sepullia 5. C. 39. Sydenham 1074a. Sear Imperators 107e. Crawford, 480/14.

 

@zumbly That is a very nice example.Thanks for posting it here.

 

Very nice Brian. I have said this before but what a difference a photo can make.

 

LOL, agreed. MY photos are rotten. Just not the time or free space to do it.

Here is an Elephant JC of mine. I like it as it was minted when he made a commitment and moved across the Rubicon. When the Elephant crossed, he kicked up a lot of mud... :

RR Julius Caesar AR Denarius 49 BCE Traveling Mint Elephant-Pontificates Sear 1399 Craw 443-1

 

This is quite a coin. The flan is oversize and contains all of the features of its type; all the features are readily identifiable and readable; the portrait is one of the more artistic you'll find on Julius Caesar denarii; and the condition is certainly conservative at a grade of about VF.

I have one of this type too, and it was the history that I found overwhelming: a coin that was struck within a month of Julius Caesar's assassination. Just mind-boggling.

 

I like the elephant. not sure why I just do.

 

Fantastic catch Orfew, unusually nice and rare!

Here's my favorite, a gift from my wife.


Gaius Julius Caesar
February-March 44 BC. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.90 g, 5h). Rome mint. P. Sepullius Macer, moneyer. Laureate and veiled head right / Venus standing left, holding Victory and scepter; shield at base of scepter. Crawford 480/13; CRI 107d; Sydenham 1074; RSC 39. From the Jörg Müller Collection.

Alföldi arranges Crawford 480 series coins in (44 BC) month order as follows:

RRC 480/1, Buca - January
RRC 480/2, DICT QVART - early February
RRC 480/3/4/5, CAESAR IMP - late February
RRC 480/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14, DICT PERPETVO - early to mid March
RRC 480/17/18, CAESAR IMPER - late March
RRC 480/19/20, PARENS PATRIAE - April
RRC 480/15/16, MARIDIANVS - April
RRC 480/21/22, CLEMENTIAE CAESARIS and Mark Antony - April

 

Wow @Nemo A great coin and a wonderful wife!

Thanks for the Affoldi chart. That would mean mine was minted near the end of February.

 

Thanks very much @IdesOfMarch01 for the comments. I really like the portrait, the readable legend on the obverse, and I agree that the grade was quite conservative. I also agree with others here that the entering is remarkable.

I agree with you concerning the history behind this coin. It is quite thrilling to know that I now own a coin of JC minted just a few weeks before his assassination. This is one of the main reasons I started collecting the 12 Caesars in the first place.

Thanks again for the kind words.