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Lot 615
The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. February-March 44 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.63 g, 6h). Lifetime issue. Rome mint; P. Sepullius Macer, moneyer. VF.
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Live Auction
Triton XXVIII
Live bidding began Jan 14, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST
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Description
The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. February-March 44 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.63 g, 6h). Lifetime issue. Rome mint; P. Sepullius Macer, moneyer. Wreathed head right; CAESAR downwards to right, DICT PERPETVO upwards to left / Venus Victrix standing left, holding Victory in extended right hand and vertical scepter in left; shield set on ground to right; P SEPVLLIVS downwards to right, MACER downwards to left. Crawford 480/10; Alföldi Type VIII, 24-25 (A12/R3); CRI 107a; Sydenham 1073; RSC 38; BMCRR Rome 4169–71; Kestner –; RBW –. Toned, with light iridescence, weakness at the periphery, scrape on reverse. VF.
From the CLA Collection. Ex Berk BBS 63 (13 June 1990), lot 316.
When Crassus was killed in the Parthian campaign in 53 BC, the two remaining members of the First Triumvirate were Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. The rivalry between them increased tremendously. In 51 and 50 BC, as Caesar’s appointment in Gaul was nearing an end, the Senate also became fearful, and moved increasingly towards Pompey and his army. Caesar’s legions, full of battle-hardened veterans, felt their loyalty was first to Caesar, and second to Rome. Also, Caesar became very popular with the common people in Rome, who were always a danger to the aristocratic Senate. On January 1, 49 BC, the Senate demanded that Caesar disband his army before returning to Italy. The problem with this was that if Caesar went to Rome defenseless, he would be vulnerable to prosecution by his political enemies. Thus, Caesar fatefully crossed the Rubicon River, famously proclaiming “alea iacta est”- “the die is cast.” With his veteran 13th Legion at his back, he faced no challengers in Italy. Pompey was unable to muster sufficient forces and was forced to flee to Greece where Caesar defeated him at Pharsalus on August 9, 48 BC. Caesar then began subduing Rome’s enemies, one after another. The Senate, in response, began heaping honors and praise upon him. On February 14, 44 BC, the Senate awarded him the title of dictator perpetuus (dictator for life), indicated on this coin in the legend – DICT PERPETVO. Concurrently, a conspiracy had been in the works for several months to eliminate Caesar and return power to the Senate, headed by Brutus and Cassius. This came to fruition when Caesar was killed on the Ides of March (March 15), 44 BC. Therefore, this coin can be attributed to that one-month period between the time Caesar was given the title of dictator perpetuus and his death.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Three – Lot 558–829 will be held Wednesday morning, 15 January 2025 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.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
From the CLA Collection. Ex Berk BBS 63 (13 June 1990), lot 316.
When Crassus was killed in the Parthian campaign in 53 BC, the two remaining members of the First Triumvirate were Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. The rivalry between them increased tremendously. In 51 and 50 BC, as Caesar’s appointment in Gaul was nearing an end, the Senate also became fearful, and moved increasingly towards Pompey and his army. Caesar’s legions, full of battle-hardened veterans, felt their loyalty was first to Caesar, and second to Rome. Also, Caesar became very popular with the common people in Rome, who were always a danger to the aristocratic Senate. On January 1, 49 BC, the Senate demanded that Caesar disband his army before returning to Italy. The problem with this was that if Caesar went to Rome defenseless, he would be vulnerable to prosecution by his political enemies. Thus, Caesar fatefully crossed the Rubicon River, famously proclaiming “alea iacta est”- “the die is cast.” With his veteran 13th Legion at his back, he faced no challengers in Italy. Pompey was unable to muster sufficient forces and was forced to flee to Greece where Caesar defeated him at Pharsalus on August 9, 48 BC. Caesar then began subduing Rome’s enemies, one after another. The Senate, in response, began heaping honors and praise upon him. On February 14, 44 BC, the Senate awarded him the title of dictator perpetuus (dictator for life), indicated on this coin in the legend – DICT PERPETVO. Concurrently, a conspiracy had been in the works for several months to eliminate Caesar and return power to the Senate, headed by Brutus and Cassius. This came to fruition when Caesar was killed on the Ides of March (March 15), 44 BC. Therefore, this coin can be attributed to that one-month period between the time Caesar was given the title of dictator perpetuus and his death.
The final winners of all Triton XXVIII lots will be determined at the live public sale that will be held on 14-15 January 2025.
Triton XXVIII – Session Three – Lot 558–829 will be held Wednesday morning, 15 January 2025 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.
We recognize that our users may have various Internet Browsers and Operating Systems. We like our visitors to have the best possible experience when using our bidding platform. However, we do recognize that it is impossible to develop applications that work identically, efficiently and effectively on all web browsers. The CNG bidding platform supports the latest stable major version and stable previous version of Chrome and Firefox.
