Julius Caesar. 49–44 BC. Silver Denarius

Julius Caesar. 49–44 BC. Silver Denarius (17 mm, 3.90 g, 6 h). Military mint moving with Caesar in North Africa, 48–47 BC. Obv. Diademed head of Venus right. Rev. CAESAR, Aeneas advancing left, holding the Palladium in right hand and carrying his father Anchises on his left shoulder. Babelon (Julia) 10; Crawford 458/1; Sydenham 1013; RBW 1600. Attractive iridescent cabinet tone. Struck slightly off-centre on a short flan, otherwise good very fine. Ex Raffaele Negrini E-Live Auction (27–28 May 2023), lot 25. Tag included.

One of the most celebrated types of Caesar’s imperatorial series, this denarius links the Julian gens directly to its divine and heroic ancestry. The obverse depicts Venus Genetrix, the goddess from whom the Julians claimed descent, while the reverse shows Aeneas, her son and the legendary founder of Rome, carrying his aged father Anchises from the ruins of Troy and holding the Palladium, the sacred image of Athena said to protect the city that possessed it. The type forms a masterful piece of political symbolism, uniting divine favor, pietas, and destiny. In invoking both Venus and Aeneas, Caesar presented himself as the living continuation of Rome’s mythic lineage, destined to restore order after years of civil conflict. Struck by a travelling military mint during the North African campaign against the Pompeian forces of Metellus Scipio, these coins would have served both as payment to Caesar’s troops and as a declaration of his divine legitimacy. A historically resonant issue of great artistry and subtle propaganda, this denarius stands among the finest expressions of Caesar’s self-image as restorer, conqueror, and heir to the divine lineage of Venus and Aeneas.