Julius Caesar Elephant Coin

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Imagine you are a young Roman Citizen. You work on your great uncle’s farm. Working for a few days straight, your uncle gives you three silver denarius. You inspect the coins closely, realizing the front is in the beautiful shape of an elephant. Let's take a closer look at the history, design, and value of these splendid silver pennies.

This specific coin was minted by Julius Caesar’s military. When Julius Caesar traveled around conquering the lands with his army, they also minted coins. Some archaeologists say that the coin was made with an elephant on it to represent the time when one of Julius’ ancestors defeated an elephant with his bare hands. Still, some others believe that the coin represents the time when Pompey tried to attack Caesar’s army. They barged in on a chariot pulled by four elephants. Therefore, they couldn’t even fit through the door! The attack failed and Julius’ army conquered their enemies. However, everyone agrees that the …show more content…

It is made entirely of silver. On the front of the coin is an elephant facing right trampling a snake. Back in the time of the Ancient Romans, a serpent was an elephants’ worst enemy. The sight of this coin brought hope to the lives of people because the elephant was winning. The elephant represented themselves, and the snake represented their enemies. Underneath of the elephant and the serpent is the name Caesar. Julius wanted everyone to know that it was his coin. There is also a line of dots circling the outside of the coin. Julius Caesar was Pontifex Maximus at the time. Therefore, he wanted the symbols of the high priest on the back of the coin. These symbols include the simpulum, a ladle with a long handle used to make liberations, an aspergillum, a stick with horsehair at the end to sprinkle holy water, a securis, an ax used to kill the animal sacrifice, and the apex, a cap worn by the priest. This side of the coin also has a line of dots circling

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