Denarius with Caesar's portrait
44 BC ・ silver ・ 1st century BC ・ Rome
obverse
About the photos
The reverse is not shown on this page. Only the obverse is pictured.
In 44 BC Caesar had his own portrait struck on the coinage while still alive. Until then, faces belonged to gods and to the dead. Circulating with the legend CAESAR, this face looked to the republic like the return of a king. Months after it was struck, he was stabbed in the Senate. The portrait became the very template of empire.