Julius Caesar

[Egry]

If finally picked up a lifetime coin of JC. Before that I only had a JC posthumous portrait on a coin minted by Marc Antony, still a lovely coin but not a lifetime portrait.

fro my research it appears that this obverse with IMPER seems a bit more scarce.

Gaius Iulius Caesar, as Dictātor Perpetuō of the Roman Republic February – March 44 BC, Silver Denarius (3.77g, 19mm), Rome mint 44 BC, moneyer issue in the name of P. Sepullius Macer. Obverse: Wreathed head of Gaius Julius Caesar facing to the right, legend surrounds either side, “CAESAR IMPER”. Reverse: Full figure of Venus stands facing to the left, togate and holding Victoria aloft in right hand and long sceptre, which rests above star, in right, exergual-ground line below, moneyer’s name surrounds, “[P· SE]PVLLIVS MACER”. Sydenham-1070; Crawford 480/18. A late life time or possibly immediately posthumous issue bearing a noteworthy portrait of Julius Caesar, struck a touch unevenly thus flat towards the upper edge of the reverse, otherwise very attractive and certainly scarce compared with the non-portrait types, Very Fine.

 

What do you all think? 

 

 

[Severus Alexander]

What do we think?  We love it, of course!!  😄  Who wouldn't?!

Both the portrait and the reverse figure are superior to most, and comparatively well struck for these I'd say.

Here's my portrait denarius (haven't taken a proper photo yet):

Julius Caesar with L. Aemilius Buca. Denarius 44, AR 3.63 g. CAESAR•IM – P – M Wreathed head of Caesar r.; behind, crescent. Rev. [L]•AEMILIVS – BVCA Venus standing l., holding sceptre and Victory. Crawford 480/4. Sear: Jan-Feb. 44 BCE. Alföldi: late Feb. 44 BCE, just prior to DICT PERPETVO issue.

2 hours ago, Egry said:

or possibly immediately posthumous issue

You'll be interested in what Andrew McCabe has to say about this: "All of the portrait coins of Julius Caesar from RRC series 480 were likely produced prior to his assassination on 15 March 44 BC. The fabric, style, and minting techniques of the coins indicate a number of parallel workshops and not a single sequence as laid out by Alföldi and Crawford. That these coins all pre-date March 15th, 44 BC is also the view of Bernhard Woytek (see Arma et Nummi, 2004) and Professor T.V. Buttrey, who in a 2015 paper suggests the entire issue was intended as financing for Julius Caesar’s proposed Parthian campaign. The anomalous type RRC 480/20, with an obverse of Caesar and a reverse of Antony’s desultor issue, and known in very few examples from one obverse die, can most easily be explained as an unintended mule."

[zumbly]

Wow, great coin... congratulations!  Here's mine, with yet more wreath flatness.  😁

 

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

 

[Phil Davis]

Crawford 485/1. Same types, but 43 BC. so not quite lifetime:

[Egry]

4 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

What do we think?  We love it, of course!!  😄  Who wouldn't?!

Both the portrait and the reverse figure are superior to most, and comparatively well struck for these I'd say.

Here's my portrait denarius (haven't taken a proper photo yet):

Julius Caesar with L. Aemilius Buca. Denarius 44, AR 3.63 g. CAESAR•IM – P – M Wreathed head of Caesar r.; behind, crescent. Rev. [L]•AEMILIVS – BVCA Venus standing l., holding sceptre and Victory. Crawford 480/4. Sear: Jan-Feb. 44 BCE. Alföldi: late Feb. 44 BCE, just prior to DICT PERPETVO issue.

You'll be interested in what Andrew McCabe has to say about this: "All of the portrait coins of Julius Caesar from RRC series 480 were likely produced prior to his assassination on 15 March 44 BC. The fabric, style, and minting techniques of the coins indicate a number of parallel workshops and not a single sequence as laid out by Alföldi and Crawford. That these coins all pre-date March 15th, 44 BC is also the view of Bernhard Woytek (see Arma et Nummi, 2004) and Professor T.V. Buttrey, who in a 2015 paper suggests the entire issue was intended as financing for Julius Caesar’s proposed Parthian campaign. The anomalous type RRC 480/20, with an obverse of Caesar and a reverse of Antony’s desultor issue, and known in very few examples from one obverse die, can most easily be explained as an unintended mule."

Thanks for the compliment and the additional info. I’ll set aside some time today to research abut further using your lead. 

[Parthicus]

Very nice coins, all!  I've already shared my lifetime JC denarius a number of times over on CT, but it's worth another look:

 

[Troyden]

Congrats! Here's mine, nowhere close as fine as yours!

 

[Egry]

7 hours ago, Phil Davis said:

Crawford 485/1. Same types, but 43 BC. so not quite lifetime:

Mind blowing condition! Beautiful. 

[Qcumbor]

I still need one. Great acquisition @Egry

Q

[MrMonkeySwag96]

Unfortunately, I can’t afford a lifetime portrait denarius of Caesar. I do have a generic Venus head denarius in rough condition:

3.16g, 17mm Diademed head of Venus right Aeneas advancing left, holding plladium and carrying Anchises on his shoulder. "CAESAR" RSC 12

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by MrMonkeySwag96

[Alegandron]

GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR

Minted Last TWO Weeks of his life...


Roman Imperiatorial
Julius Caesar Lifetime
P Sepullius Macer
AR Denarius, 1st 2 weeks-Mar 44 BCE, 19 mm, 4.03g.
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.
Ref: Syd 1074a Sear Imperators 107e Crawford 480-14 

R

- minted in last two weeks of his reign, or two weeks before he was assassinated.
- veiled, as he held the offce of Pontifex Maximus for several years, and that office was very important to him personally.
- wreathed... just short of being king... big no-no
- DICT PERPETVO - yeah, he was a king... so Roman Republic inherently and culturally hated kings.
- fairly difficult to capture with the star on reverse
- reasonably centered with most/all devices and legends (this is not as important to me cuz its numismatic vs the intrinsic Historical impact.)

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

[jdmKY]

Julius Caesar in silver and gold - denarius is lifetime (44 BC), aureus is shortly after death (43 BC)

[Severus Alexander]

Wow, @jdmKY, those are truly incredible coins!! 🤯 The production values – especially the portrait engraving – on 480/6 seem higher than on the other DICT PERPETVOs... any thoughts on that?

8 hours ago, Alegandron said:

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

Your DICT PERPETVO is also amazing, @Alegandron!  Wanna trade?  😇  (Note that the dating you cite has probably been superseded... see my quote from Andrew McCabe above.)

[jdmKY]

Thanks, @Severus Alexander! I agree with you on the portrait of the denarius. I bought this coin nearly 40 years ago as a private purchase. It has been previously owned by Edward Gans and I’m told he felt this was one of the best, if not THE best portrait denarius he had seen. It’s been published in Alfoldi (vol 73, plate 1.1) and Corpus Nummorum Romanorum (vol 1, p 79, 95/11). It’s also pedigreed back to 1917.

[Phil Davis]

Imo, Crawford 480/6 consistently has the best portraits of any of the lifetime portrait denarii. Here's mine:

[Severus Alexander]

2 hours ago, jdmKY said:

Thanks, @Severus Alexander! I agree with you on the portrait of the denarius. I bought this coin nearly 40 years ago as a private purchase. It has been previously owned by Edward Gans and I’m told he felt this was one of the best, if not THE best portrait denarius he had seen. It’s been published in Alfoldi (vol 73, plate 1.1) and Corpus Nummorum Romanorum (vol 1, p 79, 95/11). It’s also pedigreed back to 1917.

1 hour ago, Phil Davis said:

Imo, Crawford 480/6 consistently has the best portraits of any of the lifetime portrait denarii. Here's mine:

Looks to me like you guys chose the same dies, @jdmKY and @Phil Davis!  You are Caesar portrait coin-bro champs!!!  Just wow.  Amazing coins.

And yes, that's what I meant, @Phil Davis, about the 480/6 type generally.  Good to get confirmation from an expert.  Do you think there's an explanation for this?  One story is that the 480 series was rapidly produced to fund Caesar's Parthian war, but the production values on 480/6 suggest that may not be correct for this type.  Possibly posthumous?  The portrait style does seem somewhat transitional to the posthumous style to me.

Edited June 26, 2022 by Severus Alexander

[Phil Davis]

29 minutes ago, Severus Alexander said:

Looks to me like you guys chose the same dies, @jdmKY and @Phil Davis!  You are Caesar portrait coin-bro champs!!!  Just wow.  Amazing coins.

And yes, that's what I meant, @Phil Davis, about the 480/6 type generally.  Good to get confirmation from an expert.  Do you think there's an explanation for this?  One story is that the 480 series was rapidly produced to fund Caesar's Parthian war, but the production values on 480/6 suggest that may not be correct for this type.  Possibly posthumous?  The portrait style does seem somewhat transitional to the posthumous style to me.

I thought they were the same dies, but I'm viewing on my phone so it was hard to really be sure. The whole 480 issue is full of questions--order of striking, lifetime or just-posthumous-- but absent an eye witness at the mint is probably destined to remain forever a bit of a muddle. Certainly Crawford's arrangement isn't particularly clear or persuasive. I personally think Colin Kraay's analysis (NC, 1954) is at least as satisfying as any of the later discussions of the denarii of 44 BC. Kraay of course wrote very little on Roman subjects, but this paper shows what a loss to Roman numismatics his concentration on Greek coins really was.

I think it's at least plausible that 480/6 is the first portrait denarius and received more careful treatment by the mint as a result. I base this notion mostly on the fact that the same moneyer, L. Buca, was responsible for 480/1 ("Sulla's Dream"), the only non-portrait in Crawford's 480 entry.

[Severus Alexander]

Thanks, @Phil Davis, I'll definitely check out the Kraay paper.

As for 480/6 being the first, or rather second, portrait denarius, this makes sense, as the style is very similar to 480/2a, which we know(?) is earlier because it's DICT QVART.  Here's one I bid on recently (and got sadly stomped 😆):

Very, very similar style, yes?  And this is usual for the issue.

I had thought the for-life dictatorship had come in Feb. but I see could have been as early as Jan.  Won't take me much to convince me you're right on this.

Where would you place 480/4?

[Octavius]

 

 

Silver denarius CAESAR IMP, minted in Rome by P. Sepullius Macer, January to February 44 BC