The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Late 48-47 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.87 g, 6h). Military mint traveling with Caesar in North Africa. EF.

CNG Feature Auction 124
Lot: 522. Estimated: $ 1 500

Roman Republican, Coin-in-Hand Video, Silver

Sold For $ 1 800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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The Caesarians. Julius Caesar. Late 48-47 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.87 g, 6h). Military mint traveling with Caesar in North Africa. Diademed head of Venus right / Aeneas advancing left, holding palladium and bearing Anchises on his shoulder. Crawford 458/1; CRI 55; Sydenham 1013; RSC 12; RBW 1600. Light golden toning with some luster. EF.

Julius Caesar traced his descent to the Trojan hero Aeneas. According to legend, Aeneas was the result of a liaison between the goddess Venus and Anchises, a herdsman who was related to the Trojan royal family. In a scene recounted in Virgil’s Aeneid, as the Mycenaean confederation torched Troy, Aeneas escaped the burning city carrying his aged father Anchises on his shoulder and the sacred Palladium, the cult statue of Pallas Athena saved from the household shrine. This scene is depicted on the reverse of this denarius of Caesar, struck in 48-47 BC, at least two decades before the Aeneid was composed. Venus, the mother of Aeneas (and thus the divine progenitor of Caesar) appears on the obverse.

The final winners of all CNG Feature Auction 124 lots will be determined during the live online sale that will be held on 19-20 September 2023. This lot is in Session Two, which will begin 19 September at 2 PM 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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