The end of the republic and the dawn of the Roman empire in 5 denarii

There are five denarii classified as imperatorial, minted during the transitional period between the end of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Principate, presented in the current Numismatic Auction 8. These coins allow us to take a closer look at some events and key figures from the turbulent years of the civil wars.

The denarii of Julius Caesar

Following chronological order, we begin with the denarius minted by Julius Caesar around 48 b.C.

Numismatic Auction 8, Lot 21, Julius Caesar (100-44 a.C.) Denarius AG (g 3,93) 

On the obverse, the finely crafted head of the goddess Venus, from whom the Julian gens claimed divine descent, likely bears the features of Calpurnia, Caesar’s third and final wife.

On the reverse, we find a Gallic trophy. It consists of a cuirass placed on a pole and topped with a helmet, flanked by a large oval shield and a carnyx (a musical instrument); to the side, an axe adorned with a zoomorphic head.

This elaborate trophy celebrates Caesar’s achievements as recounted in his De Bello Gallico, and the legend “CAESAR” serves to seal his triumph.

Moving on to another magnificent denarius of Caesar, lot 20, minted between 47 and 46 BC, the obverse again features the head of Venus, while the reverse depicts Aeneas fleeing from Troy.

Numismatic Auction 8, Lot 20, Julius Caesar (100-44 a.C.) Denarius AG (g 3,76)

Aeneas, depicted in heroic nudity, carries his aged father, Anchises, on his shoulders and holds in his right hand a statuette of the goddess Athena, equipped with a spear, shield, and helmet, thus saving, in a manner of speaking… God, Homeland, and Family.

This specimen is perfectly struck and centered on both sides and has come down to us in truly remarkable preservation.

The imperatorial denarii of Pompey the Great and Gnaeus Pompey the Younger

The two denarii in lots 18 and 19 are often attributed by scholars to Pompey the Great (initially an ally and son-in-law of Julius Caesar, later his bitter enemy). However, they were likely minted later, after 46 BC, by his eldest son, Gnaeus Pompey the Younger.

Numismatic Auction 8, Lot 18,  Pompey the Great (106-48 a.C.) Denarius AG (g 3,80)

In the years following their father’s defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus and his subsequent assassination in Egypt (48 BC), Gnaeus Pompey the Younger and his brother Sextus Pompey sought to regain their standing.

After the further defeat at Thapsus in Africa (46 BC), the two brothers took refuge in Spain, where their family had strong roots. These denarii triumphantly celebrate their landing in Spain and the support Pompey received in that province.

These denarii, which bear on the obverse the name of Marcus Poblicius, legate pro praetore of Baetica (corresponding to modern Andalusia), were almost certainly minted at the Corduba (Cordova) mint, the headquarters of the Pompeian forces.

Numismatic Auction 8, Lot 19, Pompey the Great (106-48 a.C.) Denarius AG (g 3,76)

The helmeted portrait on the obverse shows intriguing differences between the two specimens. The denarius in lot 18 features a more idealized portrait, while the one in lot 19 displays distinct physiognomic characteristics, which may perhaps conceal the likeness of one of the prominent figures of the time.

In the end, at the Battle of Munda (45 BC), Caesar definitively defeated the Pompeians and the conservative Republicans.

The denarii minted under Mark Antony and Octavian

We now arrive at the fifth and final denarius in our collection, lot 22. Minted in 34 BC, it features the portraits of a curly-haired and dynamic Mark Antony on the obverse and a youthful Octavian on the reverse.

Numismatic Auction 8, Lot 22, Mark Antony e Octavian (34 a.C) Denaro AG (g 3,24)

We are in the years when, after eliminating all other opponents, power remained solely in the hands of Octavian and Mark Antony, who divided it between them, in the West and East respectively.

Two portraits on a single coin undoubtedly enhance its value, but two rulers in power are still too many…

Indeed, just a few years after the minting of this striking denarius, Octavian, victorious at the Battle of Actium, would succeed in consolidating all power in his hands, on the verge of transforming Rome into a definitive empire.

Read also:

• The article about the ancient coins that will be auctioned on November 16 and 17.
• the press release of Numismatic Auction 8