| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 115 | Auction date: 21 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 822 Price realized: 850 GBP (Approx. 1,077 USD / 981 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Julius Caesar AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Caesar, 48-47 BC. Diademed female head to right, wearing oak-wreath; LII (Caesar's age) behind / Trophy of Gallic arms, wearing horned helmet, holding oval shield ornamented with thunderbolt and carnyx; securis to right, CAE-SAR across lower fields. Crawford 452/2; CRI 11; BMCRR Rome 3955; RSC 18. 3.58g, 21mm, 3h. Extremely Fine; areas of delamination. Caesar's conquest of Gaul, which the reverse of this coin alludes to, with its captured Gallic spoils (the typical shield, the Gallic 'carnyx' or war horn, and axe), was the springboard from which he was to take control of the Republic and become its Dictator. It allowed him to grow his power base through both fame as the conqueror of so vast a region and of so many peoples, and through strength as the commander of an army that grew ever more experienced and fiercely loyal. His allocation of the provinces of Gaul also granted him a magistrate's immunity from the prosecution his enemies intended to conduct upon his return to Rome, which would undoubtedly have stunted his career. It was from his province of Cisalpine Gaul that he invaded Italy across the Rubicon, and he did so with the Legio XIII Gemina, who had fought for him in the major battles of his conquest of Gaul. The importance of this conquest of Gaul to Caesar's career, and his awareness of this, is demonstrated by this coin. It was minted some time after he had left Gaul behind, by the mint which had moved with his army across the Mediterranean and beyond as it chased down the Optimates, most likely in Greece shortly after the victory over Pompey in Pharsalus. Yet the type harks back to these Gallic victories, reminding those he paid with these coins of his past as a Roman hero - a conqueror not of his own people, but of his people's enemies. Estimate: 500 GBP |  |
Match 1:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 115 | Auction date: 21 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 826 Price realized: 750 GBP (Approx. 950 USD / 866 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Julius Caesar AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Caesar in Spain, 46-45 BC. Head of Venus to right, wearing stephane; Cupid behind shoulder / Trophy of Gallic arms between two seated captives; CAESAR in exergue. Crawford 468/1; CRI 58; BMCRR Spain 89-92; RSC 13. 3.90g, 19mm, 3h. Good Very Fine. Estimate: 750 GBP |  |
Match 2:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 119 | Auction date: 24 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 1303 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: Julius Caesar AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Caesar in Spain, 46-45 BC. Head of Venus to right, wearing stephane; Cupid behind shoulder / Trophy of Gallic arms between two seated captives; CAESAR in exergue. Crawford 468/1; CRI 58; BMCRR Spain 89-92; RSC 13. 4.00g, 19mm, 5h. Good Very Fine. Acquired from cgb.fr. With the help of his political allies, Caesar had succeeded in making himself the governor of Cisalpine Gaul and Illyricum, with Transalpine Gaul later added, giving him command of four legions. The term of this governorship, and therefore his immunity from prosecution, was set at an extraordinary five years, instead of the usual one. Deeply in debt, Caesar wasted little time in taking advantage of the unstable situation in Gaul to expand his territory through conquest, and thicken his holdings with plunder. What eventually became known as Caesar's Gallic campaign was initially a piecemeal affair, but within six years he had expanded Roman rule over the whole of Gaul. Following years of relative success, mainly thanks to the disconnected nature of the tribes allowing him to take them on separately, he was faced with the chief of the Arverni tribe, Vercingetorix, who too late had built a confederation to stand against Caesar. In 52 BC, despite formidable resistance, Caesar finally defeated Vercingetorix at the Battle (or Siege) of Alesia. This illegal war which by Caesar's own account had left a million dead, was instrumental in elevating him to a position of supreme power among the statesmen of the late Republic, making him incredibly wealthy through war booty, and also making him dangerously popular with the plebs. Struck in the course of Caesar's war against the Senatorial faction led by Pompey and later Metellus Scipio, Caesar's triumphant coinage trumpets his military achievements and conquest in Gaul, while reminding the bearer also of his claimed descent from Venus through Aeneas. Estimate: 500 GBP |  |
Match 3:
| Spink > Auction 24121 | Auction date: 9 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 159 Price realized: 280 GBP (Approx. 354 USD / 326 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Roman Republic, Julius Caesar, AR Denarius, military mint traveling with Caesar in Spain, late 46-early 45 BC, diademed head of Venus right, Cupid over shoulder, rev. trophy of Gallic arms, composed of helmet and cuirass, oval shield and carnyx in each hand, with two seated captives it its base, on the left, a female in attitude of dejection, on the right, a bearded male with hands bound behind him, 4.01g (Crawford 468/1; CRI 58; Sydenham 1014; RSC 13; RBW 1639), toned, residually lustrous, about very fine. PROVENANCE, From the Collection of Dr Tony Abramson Estimate: £200 - £300 |  |
Match 4:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 118 | Auction date: 8 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 1243 Price realized: 420 GBP (Approx. 531 USD / 489 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Julius Caesar AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Caesar, 49-48 BC. Elephant advancing to right, trampling on serpent; CAESAR in exergue / Emblems of the pontificate: simpulum, aspergillum, securis (surmounted by wolf's head) and apex. Crawford 443/1; CRI 9; BMCRR Gaul 27; RSC 49. 3.71g, 19mm, 2h. Very Fine; areas of delamination, banker's mark to rev. Estimate: 400 GBP |  |
Match 5:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd > E-Sale 119 | Auction date: 24 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 1296 Price realized: 600 GBP (Approx. 746 USD / 698 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Julius Caesar AR Denarius. Military mint travelling with Caesar, 49-48 BC. Elephant advancing to right, trampling on serpent; CAESAR in exergue / Emblems of the pontificate: simpulum, aspergillum, securis (surmounted by wolf's head) and apex. Crawford 443/1; CRI 9; BMCRR Gaul 27; RSC 49. 3.70g, 19mm, 9h. Good Very Fine. Ex Artemide Aste s.r.l., Auction 62E, 11-12 March 2023, lot 406. Estimate: 500 GBP |  |
