Merry Christmas everyone, Here are a few budget Julius Caesar Denarii from my collection. This one is my latest acquisition. It's off-center, but I think it has good eye appeal with the crisp details and a nice clear "CAESAR" on the reverse. Julius Caesar Elephant Denarius by JGGonzalez posted Dec 24, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Agreed. Cool. I've not had an elephant type before. I do have a lifetime denarius from just before his assassination, in my Twelve Caesars collection.
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.
Nice! I've had a couple JC elephant denarii go through my hands before. Currently the only JC coin I own is this denarius: 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.
Roman Republic Julius Caesar AR Denarius 49 BCE Traveling Mint Elephant trampling snake- Pontificates Bronze adhered from hoard Sear 1399 Craw 443-1
Thanks. I was trying to find that “happy medium” sweet spot when buying a lifetime JC for my 12 Caesars set. It had to have a decent portrait and clear name, and grade at least Fine, but NOT be too nice and therefore too expensive! That piece, despite its slightly ragged flan and some bankers’ marks, fit all my criteria and my budget. It still wasn’t cheap, but I was able to successfully win it in a European auction. (Prior to the win, I’d struck out miserably on two or three occasions when bidding on them in US auctions.)
Bankers marks and ragged flans are always good. Shows that the coin has been proven in ancient times, and ragged is character. Nice coin. Striking out a few times is good, to me. When I do win what I am looking for, it means I found a hidden gem under the collective radar. Many of my coins have been won or found that way! Lotsa satisfaction.
Since the title of this thread is budget Julius Caesar denarii, I'll share the first one I ever owned, from my first Twelve Caesars collection, which I did on a much smaller budget of $500/coin or less. This one cost me $468, a little over a decade ago. (My slabbing it pushed the cost up to just over the $500 mark.) This one is well worn, again with banker's marks, but it had a clear enough portrait and most of his name was clear on the flan. Somebody once cracked that it was "a Bart Simpson coin". LOL