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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;zumbly, post: 2073320, member: 57495&quot;]If it hadn&#039;t taken <b>4 months</b> to reach me, this is the coin that would have been at the top of my 2014 favorites list.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The short version of the story :</p><p><br /></p><p>I won it in an auction last September, but the auction house mistakenly sent it to the wrong address.&nbsp; When I informed them of the error, they tried to contact the person they had sent it to but never received a reply.&nbsp; After three frustrating months of correspondence with the auction house, I had just about given up hope of their getting the coin back from whomever they had sent it to when, two weeks ago, they found the package returned to their office.&nbsp; They duly sent it on to me (this time with the correct address), and so here we have it, after a long wait and 20,000 miles of international jet-setting... my JC denarius!&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]384318[/ATTACH] </p><p><b>JULIUS CAESAR</b></p><p>AR Denarius</p><p>3.77g, 19mm</p><p>Rome mint, struck by L. Aemilius Buca, February - March 44 BC</p><p>Crawford 480/8; Sydenham 1061; RCV 1411</p><p>O: CAESAR DICT PERPETVO, wreathed head of Caesar facing right.&nbsp; </p><p>R: L BVCA, Venus standing left, holding Victory and a sceptre.</p><p><i>Ex David Sellwood Collection</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Julius Caesar&#039;s moneyers started striking coins bearing his portrait in either late January or early February 44 BC.&nbsp; Soon thereafter, the senate awarded him a new title, <i>dictator perpetuo</i> (&quot;Dictator in perpetuity&quot;), and accordingly a new series of coins bearing the legend DICT PERPETVO began to be struck.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Caesar&#039;s use of his portrait and title on the coins confirmed for some what they saw as his monarchical and divine aspirations, and these were too great an affront to the ideals of the Roman Republic to bear.&nbsp; This series of coins were the ones being struck when a mere month later, on 15th March 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated in the Curia of Pompey by a group of conspirators led by Cassius and Brutus.</p><p><br /></p><p>A large quantity of these portrait coins were struck before, and most likely also for a short period of time after, Caesar&#039;s assassination, and enough have survived such that they tend to be quite readily available on the market.&nbsp; They are not the prettiest of coins to begin with, and moreover many were quite haphazardly struck, off-center, missing devices and worse.&nbsp; Nevertheless, an example in almost any grade is a great piece of history to hold in your hands.&nbsp; As a collector of Roman coins, I&#039;m almost giddily pleased with mine.&nbsp; In spite of the flatly-struck areas, I think it&#039;s quite a strong example of the type, and I&#039;m glad I decided to upsize my usual per coin budget in order to win it.&nbsp; Most of all though, I&#039;m happy it didn&#039;t end up getting permanently lost in the mail! <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>Please feel free to post your JC coins! </b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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