Imperatorial 71-27 BC

Roman Imperatorial 71-27 BC coins for sale.

Julius Caesar was the first leader to use his own portrait on the coinage, setting a precedent for the forthcoming Imperial coinage. Caesar used orichalcum (a copper/zinc alloy) for the first time. Following the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, the second triumvirate, comprising Mark Antony, Octavian and Lepidus, principally struck the gold aureus and silver denarius. A notable type is that of Mark Antony, referred to as the legionary denarius, showing warships and military standards, issued before the Battle of Actium, where Octavian (soon to be Augustus) concluded victory. Coinage could be issued both inside and outside of Rome by this time. Coins of this period typically show very fine realistic portraits, and reverses reflecting on military achievements or political events, even those issued by the ‘opposition’, for example the Ides of March coinage of Brutus, showing daggers and a cap of liberty.