Ancient Roman Imperatorial - 42 BCE Julius Caesar AR Denarius NGC Choice AU - L. Mussidius Longus moneyer

This piece was struck to honor the deification of Julius Caesar, and the later building of the Temple of the Deified Julius Caesar, which is located in the Roman Forum. The temple was started by Octavian in 42 BC, the date of this coin, after the Roman Senate posthumously deified Caesar. Octavian (later Augustus) dedicated the prostyle temple to Caesar, his adoptive father, on 18 August 29 BC, after conclusion of the Battle of Actium. The temple is on the site of Caesar's cremation and where Mark Antony read aloud his testament to the fallen ruler. Caesar was the first Roman resident to be deified and thus honored with a temple. Mark Antony was the first to serve as priest of the cult of Caesar. The Temple of Caesar was the only temple to be totally dedicated to the cult of a comet. The comet was seen in the sky some time after Caesar's murder (44 BC) and was seen to be the soul of Caesar and an omen of the "new birth" of Augustus as a unique Roman leader and emperor. In Greek and Roman culture, comet is an adjective describing distinctive attributes of a special star.