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This coin, found by a metal-detectorist near Basingstoke in Hampshire, was minted in North Africa during Julius Caesar’s Civil War (49-45 BC), and is a fascinating example of Roman Republican propaganda.
At the time the coin was issued, Caesar’s army was in the Roman province of Africa (which encompassed modern Tunisia and parts of Libya and Algeria), fighting the troops of Cato, a senator who was one of many politicians opposed to the wealth and power that Caesar had amassed following his success in the Gallic Wars. The coin, a silver denarius, was possibly minted within the army in order to pay Caesar’s soldiers.
The obverse shows the head of the goddess Venus, from whom Caesar claimed descent via her son Aeneas. This latter figure is depicted on the reverse, carrying his father Anchises from the ruins of Troy. According to Virgil’s epic narrative about this legendary hero, Aeneas later journeyed to Italy where he would become the progenitor of a line of Latin kings, one of whom – Romulus – would go on to found Rome itself. By associating himself with important figures from the Romans’ origin story, Caesar was projecting the message that he, too, was deserving of power in Rome.
That this coin travelled from Africa to be found in Britain almost two millennia later speaks to the enormity of the empire that Caesar ultimately had a hand in creating, with his assassination having marked a decisive end to the Roman Republic.
For more information about this object, see https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1203468 or search for SUR-5ECF7E on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database.
The Portable Antiquities Scheme is an initiative to encourage the recording of archaeological objects found by members of the public in England and Wales. For more information on the Scheme, and to browse its database of almost 1.8 million finds, visit https://finds.org.uk. Information on this find was provided by Simon Maslin, Finds Liaison Officer for Surrey.
Text: Rebecca Preedy / Image: Surrey County Council
