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Julius Caesar - Roman Dictator - M.Mettius, moneyer -
Silver Denarius (20.5mm, 4.15 gm.) Rome,  44 B.C.
Reference: G. Crawford 480/3; Alfldi type III, pl. XII, 26 (this coin); HCRI  100; Sydenham 1056; RSC 32.
 CAESAR IMP, laureate head of Julius Caesar right; behind, lituus and  simpulum behind.
M METTIVS, Venus standing facing, head left, holding Victory and scepter,  resting elbow on shield set on globe behind her; in left field.
 

 In 44 BC the Senate honored Caesar with the right to place his portrait on  the coinage. This presented a revolutionary change as never before had the  effigy of a living Roman appeared on the coinage of the Republic (there is the  instance of the exceedingly rare gold staters of T. Quinctius Flamininus struck  in Macedon 196 BC, but those are not Roman issues). Whether this was simply  another honor bestowed by the Senate to appeal to Caesar's vanity or it implied  his acceptance of the role of monarch is debated, but certainly the average  Roman interpreted it as monarchical aspirations of the dictator: within three  months Caesar was dead, struck down by the conspirators on the Ides of March, 44  BC.