DENARIUS OF JULIUS CAESAR - ' Finest Portrait Denarius ' 43 BC ROME MINT

While this coin derives its general type from those issues struck at Rome in the month prior to Caesar’s assassination in March 44 BC, its anepigraphic obverse now shows an idealized head of Caesar that is no longer veiled, while on the reverse, Venus Genetrix holds a caduceus in place of the traditional Victory. This revised, decidedly pro-Caesarian imagery comports with the events of 43 BC. Following his assassination, it was Caesar’s fellow consul and second-in-command, Antony, and not Octavian, Caesar’s official heir, who was in power. Within days of the funeral, Antony proclaimed himself as Caesar’s dictatorial successor, first by surrounding himself with a bodyguard made up of Caesar’s veterans and then by compelling the Senate in June 44 BC to transfer the provinces of Gallia Transalpina and Gallia Cisalpina – the latter under the control of one of the conspirators, Decimus Brutus – to himself for a five-year period. When Brutus refused to yield his province, Antony sent a military expedition to oust him, and laid siege to Brutus at Mutina (mod. Modena), beginning in October 44 BC.