JULIUS CAESAR, Venus

Obverse:         Diademed head of Venus right  

Reverse:        CAESAR, Aeneas walking left, carrying Anchises and palladium

Mint :              Military mint travelling with Caesar in North Africa

Date :              47-46 BC

Reference :     Crawford 458/1; CRI 55; Sydenham 1013; RSC 12

Grade :            VF

Weight :          3.16

Denom :          Denarius

Metal :            Silver

Dealer :          CNG

Acquired:        29/04/04

Comments : Julius Caesar was born in 100 B.C. to a patrician family that claimed descent from Julus, the son of the Trojan prince Aeneas, mythical founder of Rome , and his mother, the goddess Venus. This coin shows Aeneas holding his father Anchises, in one arm, and in the other hand he carries the Palladium, which is an emblem of Troy 's survival. On the flip side of the coin is the head of Aeneas's mother, Venus. The establishment of his ascendance is likely to be the primary purpose of the coin. According to legend, the Trojan prince Aeneas left Troy on the night that it fell to the Greeks and gathered men to set out in search of a site for a new Troy . He took with him his father, Anchises, and his young son Ascanius. The tales of his journey are numerous but the most widely accepted verion by the Greek historian Hellenicus recounts the eventual arrival of Aeneas in Italy .

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