One of two Julius Caesar AR Denarii I recently bought. (Military mint travelling with Caesar, 49-48 BC. Crawford 443/1; CRI 9; RSC 49) Obverse: Elephant advancing right, trampling on serpent; CAESAR in exergue. Reverse: Emblems of the pontificate: simpulum, aspergillum, securis (surmounted by wolf's head - unfortunately missing, probably due more to wear than a poor strike - see picture IV, where you can just about make it out, and picture V with my rough outline drawing), and apex. VF, 3.75g, 19mm, 2h. Both sides have gold highlights, especially the reverse. See pictures III and IV, which I have darkened to show this. The condition of this Denarius is not too bad at all - the strike was probably a good one - even if slightly off-centre, more so on the reverse than obverse - but the coin has been circulated. As such, the elephant is a little worn on its body, as is the trunk, but overall not too bad. The reverse is generally better; the apex seems barely worn at all, although wolf's head atop the securis has been worn off.
Very nice Caesar and welcom @willkerrs ! You are posting some cool stuff! My Caesar: I like to say this series was minted during his Crossing of the Rubicon period. A HUGE decision by Caesar, his General Staff, and the Army that followed him. Nice critical juncture in Human History! "IACTA ALEA EST" My Elephant decided to be like parade horses, and offer up some road apples... RR Caesar AR Denarius 49 BCE Traveling Mint Elephant-Pontificates Sear 1399 Craw 443-1
Great example of an iconic coin! Here's mine, with a close-up showing the wolf's head. I hadn't paid enough attention to this detail before.
Noob question - but I've never seen any literature on it - What, exactly, causes the gold toning / patina / iridescence and how long does this process take?
I'm no expert, but since no expert answered your question, I'll give it a shot. My understanding is that both the gold colour and iridescence is normally ordinary silver sulfide, i.e. silver tarnish, just in a very thin layer. If left to tone naturally it will eventually turn grey, then black. The speed will depend heavily on the storage method & local conditions, i.e. degree of air circulation, level of humidity, temperature, levels of sulfur in the storage material & air etc.
Beautiful coin! Love the toning. Here's mine plus the ol "R" for Ryro bankers mark I'll leave out my, "I crossed the Rubicon and all I got was this lousy t-shirt!" t-shirt pic... Julius Caesar 49-48 BCE AR denarius (18 mm, 3.43 g, 2 h). Military mint traveling with Caesar. CAESAR in exergue, elephant advancing right, trampling on horned serpent / Simpulum, sprinkler, axe (surmounted by a dog's head), and priest's hat. Crawford 443/1; HCRI 9; Sydenham 1006; RSC 49. Banker's mark on obverse, porous. Near fine. From the Expatriate Collection. The Expatriate Collection Expatriate comes from the Latin roots ex-, ""away from,"" and patria, ""one's native country."" The Expatriate Collection was formed by an American who has lived abroad for nearly fourteen years in Japan, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East. His collection was formed almost exclusively while living outside the United States
