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Author Topic: Check Out My Denarius of Julius Caesar Issued by Lucius Buca (Crawford 480/6)  (Read 1323 times)

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Offline spqrclaudius

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Check out my denarius of Julius Caesar issued by Lucius Aemilius Buca. After emerging victorious in the Civil War and setting himself up as Dictator for Life, Caesar sponsored the creation of innumerable denarii emblazoned with his visage and political titles in preparation for an invasion of the Parthian Empire. According to the historian Cassius Dio, this move was gravely offensive to traditional Roman mores and was one of the proximate causes of his assassination. A living Roman’s face had never before appeared on officially minted denarii (though Greek moneyers had incorporated such portraiture of Romans since the time of Flaminius, and posthumous portraits were sometimes also included on coins).

The reason I love this extremely fine specimen is that the portrait is sumptuously detailed and the devices on the obverse are miraculously preserved. It is also well struck with nice toning. The unusual coin was designed and released by Lucius Buca, the most artful and subtly allusive of Caesar’s moneyers (his “dream of Sulladenarius still puzzles numismatists who struggle to interpret the imagery.) Here, we see the fasces (a bundle of rods symbolizing the power of magistrates, curiously without an axe) and a winged caduceus (a magical wand associated with Mercury) “in saltire” (in a diagonal cross). We also see a globe, a handshake, and an axe. The exact message is obscure, but likely refers to Caesar restoring concord and harmony to the entire world (the handshake and the globe), exercising his role as Pontifex Maximus (the axe), and bringing luck to the empire through his oversight of the magistrates (the caduceus and the fasces). The fasces in this specimen are especially well preserved, with the individual rods in the bundle able to be made out. I can’t wait for it to arrive, a great addition for my evolving collection, and my nicest coin by far.

Offline Jay GT4

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Wonderful example!  Congrats!

Offline Akropolis

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Splendid!
PeteB

Offline simmurray

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What a coin, bordering on perfection imo

Steve

Offline Meepzorp

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Hi sc,

Nice coin! :)

The grade is incredible.

Meepzorp

Offline Aleph

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Outstanding!

Offline spqrclaudius

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I'm glad you like the coin! I was thinking, perhaps the absence of the axe in the fasces but its inclusion in the devices on the reverse suggests that Caesar is a peaceful leader who is ruling in a spirit of gentle reconciliation, with the axe removed from a context involving capital punishment and limited to its religious significance. But I've also read the theory that the axe is not an allusion to his role as pontifex in this case, and instead the fasces-without-axe combined with a lone axe might signify his leadership both at home and abroad on military command. It's not entirely clear--Buca in particular has mysterious reverses, like the famous Dream of Sulla coin which might actually show Endymion. I quite like this coin, and agree that it's a great example of the type and in a rare state of preservation.

This coin is almost ubiquitously described as a lifetime issue, but interestingly, I've read recent scholarship suggesting that most of the portrait denarii we know and love predate the Ides of March, and Alfoldi's division between posthumous and lifetime issues may be old fashioned. So in that case, this coin might be in good company with more examples than previously thought, including specimens like the "Parens Patriae" issue which some still call posthumous. (Evidently this presupposition was based on a coin that might have been a one of a kind mule showing a PP obverse but a desultor type reverse, shared with the coins of Antony.) But others have argued that only the Dict Quart, Caesar Imp, and this coin type predate the Ides of March, and most of Caesar's portraits with veils are posthumous. I think it's a fascinating debate; the underlying assumption that one type clearly preceded the next might be undermined by the possibility of simultaneous minting.

Offline paps

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Extremely beautiful! I sent my best example off to be sold as I couldn't justify the cost. One day (I hope), I will be able to buy and keep a specimen such as yours. Congrats +++

Offline TenthGen

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Very interesting coin and history! Thanks for posting!

I have an inquiry about the coin's flan. It almost looks serrate. I've looked at other examples of this type and clearly it is not actually a denarius serratus. Is there any chance your example is overstruck on a serratus though? Or perhaps it just has more unevenness in the flan than usual and I am reading too much into it.  ;D

Offline spqrclaudius

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I think it just has uneven edges. Are you aware of other examples of serrated denarii being over-stamped?

Offline TenthGen

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I've never seen one! They almost have to exist though. Either way, great coin!  +++

Offline Callimachus

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The reverse sure looks like a serrated flan . . .

 

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