Denarius mint moving with Octavian 42, AR 19.80 mm., 3.78 g.
CAESAR – III – VIR· R·P·C Draped and helmeted bust of Mars r., with spear over shoulder. Rev. S – C Trophy set on Aquila flanked by two standards. Babelon Julia 67. C 248. Sydenham 1320. Sear Imperators 138. Crawford 497/3. Scarce. Well centred, obverse weakly struck, otherwise Extremely Fine.
This coin was struck on the eve of one of the most famous battles of the dying Roman Republic: the Battle of Philippi, which saw the triumviral heirs of Julius Caesar (Octavian and Mark Antony) exact justice upon Caesar’s assassins, M. Junius Brutus and C. Cassius Longinus. The depiction of Mars on the obverse is almost certainly intended to represent Mars Ultor (“the Avenger”) invoked here as a sign of the desired revenge on Caesar’s killer and who was honored by Octavian in the aftermath of Philippi. The legends and reverse type also clearly identify the coin as belonging to the Caesarean faction. Octavian, the adopted son of Caesar, is identified only by the cognomen of his adoptive father while the distinctive Gallic trophy above the legionary eagle on the reverse is connected to the victories in the Gallic Wars that had made Julius Caesar so famous and powerful in life. These associations and the ability of the triumvirs to wield them made them powerful after his death.