One of Caesar’s Coins
March 15, 2012
Julius Caesar was murdered on this day in 44 B.C. by members of the Roman Senate.
While Caesar was fighting the Pompeians in North Africa, 47 BCE, a traveling military mint struck a large quantity of these denarii. On many of his coins, including this one from McMaster’s collection, Julius Caesar proudly proclaimed his divine ancestry from the goddess Venus by presenting her image.
On the obverse is the diademed profile of Venus, adorned with jewellery, in a border of dots. On the reverse, is Aeneas in his moment of flight from the burning ruins of Troy, carrying both his father and the embodiment of Minerva/Athena’s protection of that city, the palladium, to safety. The word “CAESAR” is written alongside him.
For more information about it or other coins in McMaster’s Bruce Brace Coin collection, please see the McMaster Coin Database 2005
Fall 2026 Exhibitions at the McMaster Museum of Art
September 4, 2026
Connected Histories, Research, and Archives—Interview with Nnamdi Nnake
September 1, 2026
What stories can the telegraph tell? More than a century after telegraph lines began to stretch across Nigeria, Connected Histories: The Telegraph in Nigeria invites visitors to take a fresh look at a technology that helped shape modern communications, colonial governance, labour, and everyday life. Drawing on the doctoral research of McMaster University PhD candidate Nnamdi Nnake, the exhibition brings together rare artifacts, archival […]
M(M)A Education Staff Teresa Gregorio Shortlisted in City of Hamilton’s Arts Champion Awards
June 23, 2026
Please join us in congratulating M(M)A’s Educator for Campus & Community Engagement, Teresa Gregorio, for being shortlisted in the Arts Champion Awards in City of Hamilton’s Arts Award 2026. The Arts Champion Awards may be conferred annually to living individuals who are outstanding supporters of the arts in Hamilton as volunteers, advocates, or board members. […]
