A week or two ago (as some of you who are also on Numis Forums may have seen) I mentioned that I had a major milestone coin coming in the mail. Well, after some mishaps and delays, it’s finally arrived! And I could not be more excited to present to you all – *drumroll* my new, lifetime portrait denarius of the man himself, Gaius Julius Caesar! A bucket list coin if ever there was one, and one which I thought might take years to acquire! The problem was, while I wanted a half-decent example, I wasn’t sure I wanted to sink $1,500-$2000 into any coin. Yet it’s pretty unusual to find a respectable specimen for under that, at least these days! I wasn’t necessarily actively shopping for a lifetime JC denarius, but…while browsing some coins for sale recently I noticed this worn but quite respectable specimen offered at a price just within my means - at least, within my means if you took a few steps back and squinted a little. The coin fulfilled my most basic requirements: first, a fully outlined (if not greatly detailed) portrait; second, at least most of the inscriptions – the most important being his name; I also wanted a “DICT PERPETVO” type, as that was perhaps the most flagrantly monarchical of Caesar’s titles, the coins featuring it also among the latest struck in his lifetime. The rather less-than-common reverse type added appeal to me as well, though of course I would have been perfectly contented with the standard Venus type too. Well, you know how it is! As Julius Caesar’s assassin Brutus is said to have remarked, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to....an empty wallet and a remarkable and fascinating piece of numismatic history” or words to that effect. After some brief but intense deliberation I made the purchase, and I couldn’t be more pleased! Now as for the history…this type was possibly one the very latest struck during Caesar’s lifetime, since he wasn’t made dictator in perpetvo until mid-February of 44 BC. Most date this type from February to March of 44 BC. Andreas Alföldi, the great Hungarian scholar and numismatist who specialized in the coinage of Julius Caesar, narrows this date down strictly to early March. Andrew McCabe favors Alföldi’s date, though acknowledges that the differences between Alföldi and Crawford are minimal. This would mean that this coin was struck possibly within a few days – at most, a week or two – of Caesar’s assassination. - THE COIN THAT KILLED CAESAR - This, and other similar types are sometimes called “the coins that killed Caesar”. While that may be a bit of an overstatement, there’s no doubt that Caesar choosing to strike his own portrait onto coins – something no Roman had ever done before – was a blatant violation of centuries of Republican tradition. Add to that fact Caesar’s use of the title DICT PERPETVO (a kingship in all but name), and you can imagine how such a coin would have angered the conservative Senators. The reverse of this type is interesting and illustrates the degree of power Caesar wielded in these last days of his life. A bundle of fasces, an ancient symbol going back to Etruscan times, symbolized the imperium or magisterial power; this is crossed with a winged caduceus, a symbol of the god Mercury, often associated with peace and prosperity. The axe or secespita was a ceremonial knife used in sacrificial rituals – no doubt a reference to Caesar’s office as Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Jupiter: another lifelong appointment. The clasped hands speak of a concord and unity that was maybe more wishful thinking than anything else, and the globe symbolized the world, over which Rome ruled. In sum, the message we get from L. Buca is one of peace, prosperity, and concord under the gods throughout the whole of the Roman world. All thanks to the man on the other side of the coin, of course! Thanks for reading and please, I'd love to see all of your Julius Caesar portrait coins (most of which will probably put mine to shame! ) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Tusculum portrait, possibly the only surviving sculpture of Caesar made during his lifetime. Archaeological Museum, Turin, Italy. [image and description from Wikipedia] Shakespeare's brilliant opening lines of Act III, Scene I - the brief, but darkly portentous exchange between Caesar and the Soothsayer: La mort de Cèsar (The Death of Caesar), an 1806 painting by Vincenzo Camuccini depicting the assassination of Julius Caesar: "Speak, hands, for me!" - Casca [image and description from Wikipedia] The Death of Caesar (French: La Mort de César) is an 1867 painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. It depicts the moment after the assassination of Julius Caesar, when the jubilant conspirators are walking away from Caesar's dead body at the Theatre of Pompey, on the Ides of March (March 15), 44 BC. The painting is kept at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. "Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!" - Cinna [image and description from Wikipedia] Irony of ironies, it wasn't too long before Brutus himself began to put his own portrait and titles on the coinage, along with an explicit celebration of the assassination of Julius Caesar on the ides of March. Of course, this is only a replica of one of the most famous coin types in all ancient history: But in the end, the assassins gravely underestimated their greatest enemy... "Look, - I draw a sword against conspirators; when think you that the sword goes up again? - Never, till Caesar's three-and-thirty wounds be well avenged; or till another Caesar have added slaughter to the words of traitors." - Octavius Caesar
Congratulations, a very nice addition! Clear portrait, PERPETVO and CAESAR, which were my criteria for these. I've got a pair of DICT PERPETVO portrait denarii. Including an L. BVCA, the same Moneyer named on yours, but with the Venus Victrix rev. (Crawford 480/8), albeit totally demolished! As you can see, you're not the only one willing to make sacrifices of condition to have this important historical type! My other JC portrait denarius (far right photo, below) is the same type but naming P. Sepullius Macer (Crawford 480/9). "THE COINS THAT KILLED CAESAR" The portrait denarius, especially the final one with the title "Dictator in Perpetuity," has been nicknamed "the coin that killed Caesar." The meaning is that it may have been "the last straw" convincing the Senators that it really was time to assassinate him -- and to do it now! Both his portrait on a coin (which suggested he wanted to be a Greek King or even a god), and the title (which all but did name him King), were deeply offensive to the Roman ruling class. And it was terribly humiliating to have it done in such a public way. Must kill him. Just as publicly. But I always add one more coin to that category: The Elephant Denarius. One of Caesar's first acts upon crossing the Rhine and taking command of (even "capturing") Rome was to strike these coins. He did it without Senate approval and using Treasury silver. (It would've been okay if it had been a normal Imperatorial / "military mint" issue to pay Legions, but this was issued as an official Roman Denarius.) That was already a signal that he intended to act as an autocrat, entirely unconstrained by the Senate or pre-existing norms. (For a long time the Elephant Denarius was attributed differently, and still may be by some, by I accept Nousek's [2008] version. [Also on her Academia here.]) "THE TROPHY TABLEAU MONUMENT" Caesar's 46 BCE "Gallic Captives" Denarius was the first coin to illustrate two bound captives at the foot of a trophy. (There had previously been coins with ONE captive & trophy.) One bound captive (a Gallic warrior -- possibly even Vercingetorix?) and the personification of Gallia seated in a posture of mourning. This design caught one and continued to appear on Roman coins for nearly 400 years, through the reigns of Licinius and Constantine and sons.
A lovely coin, and what a piece of history to own! I can imagine the sense of satisfaction. Definitely on my list.
Thanks everyone! @Curtis thanks for linking the articles about Caesar's elephant denarius. I will definitely be checking those out!
