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The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. February-March 44 BC. AR Denarius (20mm, 4.05 g, 1h). Lifetime issue. Rome mint; P. Sepullius Macer, moneyer. Laureate head right; CAESAR downward to right, DICT PERPETVO upward to left / Venus Victrix standing left, holding Victory in extended right hand and vertical scepter with star at base in left; P • SEPVLLIVS downwards to right, MACER downwards to left. Crawford 480/11; Alföldi Type VI, 1-4 (A1/R21); CRI 107b(1); Sydenham 1072; RSC 40; BMCRR Rome 4168; Kestner –; RBW 1684. Toned. EF.
From the PLZ Collection, purchased from Antiqua. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 40 (16 May 2007), lot 579.
Gaius Julius Caesar, born in 100 BC, would have a military and political career that would become the most storied, influential and famous in the history of the Roman Republic. Born to a patrician family that claimed descent from Aeneas, a son of Venus, the heritage of Caesar was well promoted throughout his lifetime. His ancestors had been consuls during the Republic on three occasions. Caesar’s aunt, Julia, married Gaius Marius, the famous “new man” who had marshalled Rome’s lower classes to attain a record seven consulships. Although a patrician, Caesar would thenceforth favor the cause of the Populares, or common citizens, over the Optimates, or aristocratic faction.
As a young man, Caesar left Rome in 89 BC to serve in Asia during the Mithridatic Wars, where he participated in the Siege of Mytiline. Here he received the Corona Civica for saving his fellow soldiers (an award that would become a recurring theme on Julio-Claudian coinage). In the ensuing years Caesar traveled the republic from one assignment to the next. He was elected military tribune in 71, held a quaestorship in 69, and was curule aedile in 65. At this time, he would become an adherent of Pompey the Great, who likely assisted in his election as praetor and Pontifex Maximus (chief priest) in 63 BC. He would be elected consul in 59 BC, at which time he reconciled differences between Pompey and Crassus and then went on to use his consulship to advance their agendas. This three-way power sharing arrangement is known to us as the “First Triumvirate.”
Following his consulship, Caesar assigned himself the province of Transalpine Gaul, which was threatened with an invasion by Celtic tribes. He took full advantage of this governorship, raising multiple legions and launching a campaign of conquest that gained Rome its largest province. Caesar’s “Commentaries,” dispatches to the senate describing his Gallic battles, was seen even then as a literary masterwork and first-rate propaganda. His willingness to share the burdens of his troops and place himself in harm’s way endeared himself to his soldiers. Over the next decade his governorship was renewed several times while he subjugated all of Gaul, likely slaughtering more than a million Celts and Germans in the process. Along the way, he sharpened his already formidable military skills and created a fanatically loyal army of 11 legions, filling his political foes in Rome with dread.
The death of Crassus in 53 BC sundered the First Triumvirate and Caesar was soon deeply at odds with Pompey, who had been slowly seduced by Caesar’s opponents into supporting the Optimates. At the end of 50 BC, the Senate refused to let Caesar stand for a second consulship in absentia and ordered him to lay down his command and return to Rome as a private citizen to face prosecution for perceived abuses of power. Instead, on 10 January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the river Rubicon into Italy with a single legion, Legio XIII, and marched on Rome, catching Pompey and his senatorial foes flat-footed. Over the next four years, he repeatedly outmaneuvered and defeated first Pompey, then the other Republican leaders, bringing the whole Roman Empire under his control. Named Dictator by a rump senate in 49 or 48 BC, he had the office renewed annually while he dealt with resistance until 45 BC, when he crushed the last Republican army at Munda.
He was ultimately given the title “Dictator Perpetuo” (Dictator for life) in February of 44 BC, when coinage bearing his war-weary portrait commenced. He would be assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15) before he could depart Rome for a planned Parthian invasion.
The present offering is perhaps the most important coin type for Julius Caesar as it is a portrait issue minted with the legend “CAESAR DICT PERPETVO,” placing its minting within a few weeks of his death. Unlike many of Caesar’s portrait denarii, which were often hastily struck from dies of indifferent style, this example bears a perfectly-centered portrait of excellent veristic style, with full legends and sound metal. It thus forms a perfect cornerstone for a superlative Twelve Caesars set in silver.
The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 132 lots will be determined at the live online sale that will be held on 18-19 May 2026.
CNG Feature Auction 132 – Session One – Lot 1-318 will be held Monday morning, 18 May 2026 beginning at 9:00 AM ET.
Winning bids are subject to a 22.5% buyer's fee for bids placed on this website and 25% for all others.
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