Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

Julius Caesar. Silver Denarius (3.9 g), 42 BC. Rome. L. Livineius Regulus, moneyer. Wreathed head of Julius Caesar right; behind, laurel branch; before, winged caduceus. Reverse L LIVINEIVS above, REGVLVS below, bull charging right. Crawford 494/24; HCRI 115; Sydenham 1106; RSC 27. Rare. Lustrous with the obverse perfectly centered. One of the finest examples extant. Superb Extremely Fine.

The significance of the reverse is not certain. It most probably refers to an event of 47 BC, mentioned by both Dio Cassius (xli.39.2) and Suetonius (Caes. 59), where during the African War Caesar was performing a sacrifice before the impending battle at Thapsus against the combined forces of Scipio and Juba. The sacrificial bull escaped, but despite this ominous omen Caesar was not dissuaded from commencing battle. We know that a praetor by the name of L. Livineius Regulus served with Caesar during the African War, and we can assume that this praetor, who perhaps was present and played a significant role at Thaspus, was a close relation of the moneyer. Of course this reference to the sacrifice at Thapsus is not the only interpretation of the reverse. The bull also represents the zodiacal sign of Taurus in Venus, and thus we should probably see an allusion to Caesar's claimed divine descent from the goddess Venus.
Estimated Value $25,000 - 30,000.
Ex Goldberg 65 (4-6 September 2011), 4124.