COINS OF JULIUS CAESAR

What Makes Caesar so Great?
PEOPLE WHO KNOW NOTHING ELSE about ancient history recognize the name Julius Caesar but might be hard-pressed to say what he ever did, aside from being assassinated. Only his lover Cleopatra VII, his assassin Marcus Junius Brutus and (perhaps) his role model, Alexander the Great, have earned such name recognition. In the English-speaking world, some of the credit goes to Shakespeare’s great tragic play.

There cannot be many collectors of ancient Roman coins who have not coveted owning at least one coin of Julius Caesar. Surprisingly, this is a goal within the reach of relatively modest budgets, as well as a challenge for even the most affluent.

“Coin of Julius Caesar” can mean at least three different things. First are coins issued during Caesar’s life and under his authority. Second are commemoratives issued after his death–particularly by his great-nephew and adopted heir Octavian, who became the Roman emperor Augustus (reigned 27 BCE – 14 CE.) And finally, there are coins without Caesar’s name or portrait but that are related in some way to his story, including the most famous Roman coin of all, the “Ides of March” denarius issued in 43 BCE by a military mint moving with Brutus’s army.

Elephant Denarius
In 59 BCE Caesar was appointed governor of Gallia Cisalpina (“Gaul on this side of the Alps”, including much of northern Italy). Drawn into complex tribal politics on the other side of the Alps, he spent the next eight years conquering Gaul. He built a fleet, launched two brief expeditions into Britain, and bridged the Rhine to raid German territory. His account of these events, De Bello Gallico (The Gallic War), was written in such direct and simple Latin that for centuries it served as a school textbook (Warrington, 1958).

Romans loved conquest, and Caesar became immensely popular. When the Senate demanded that he disband his victorious army, on 10 January 49 BCE Caesar “crossed the Rubicon” (a small stream that formed the boundary between Italy and Cisalpine Gaul), initiating a civil war.

To pay his legions (and settle his enormous debts) Caesar seized the Roman treasury’s stockpiled silver and issued an estimated 22.5 million denarii bearing his own name. The symbolism of these “elephant” coins–as well as which side is actually the obverse–has long been debated (Nousek, 2008). On one side, an African elephant tramples a dragon. The “dragon” is probably a carnyx, a large bronze war trumpet used by Gallic tribes. The other side of the coin shows a ladle (cullulus), a holy water sprinkler (aspergillum), a sacrificial axe adorned with a wolf’s head (securis) and an apex (a peculiar hat with a top spike and ear flaps). These ritual implements were emblems of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the Roman state religion. Caesar had been elected to this prestigious office in 63 BCE.

To read the complete article, see:
CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series: Coins of Julius Caesar (www.coinweek.com/ancient-coins/coinweek-ancient-coin-series-coins-julius-caesar/)

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