CAESAR’S MONEY

Thanks to his political position, Julius Caesar was progressively able to establish himself as the sole money issuer: minting coins became his almost exclusive prerogative. He got hold of Rome’s gold reserves, and minted a new coin with this precious metal (the aureus), which he then used to finance his spending (in particular to pay his legions); all of his currencies played a part in his propaganda (victories, trophies, accessories representing his religious functions, etc). He managed to get the Senate to vote a senatus consultum to enable him to be represented on his coins a few months before his death (prior to that, portraits were not allowed).