To see this coin as nothing but a coin almost seem an insult to history. In this small piece of silver lies buried a key to the understanding of one of the truly great personalities of mankind, Julius Caesar. Although a character still surrounded by controversy, it seems unquestionable that the world as we know it would have looked a lot different had it not been for the murder of Caesar. Very rarely in the history of art is it possible to come face to face with a work of comparable historical significance. Although moneyers had earlier issued coins with portraits of ancestors, this is the very first time a living individual let himself be portrayed on a coin, thereby forever changing not only the imagery but in a way the whole purpose of coins. Caesar is seen wearing the triumphal “corona aurea” and bears the title Dictator Quartum. It is in this Fourth Dictatorship period that the senate makes him dictator for life. There can be little doubt, that the order to make the present stupendous die came from Caesar directly, and that he himself must have approved the portrait.