Julius Caesar, late 48-47 BC. Denarius (Silver, 17 mm, 3.93 g, 5 h), military mint traveling with Caesar in North Africa. Diademed head of Venus to right, wearing necklace of pearls. Rev. CAESAR Aeneas advancing to left, holding palladium and bearing Anchises on his shoulder. Babelon (Julia) 10. Crawford 458/1. CRI 55. Sydenham 1013. Very fine.

Familial piety was a most sacred concept to the Romans, a people who worshipped their ancestors (the familial lares) and who considered themselves the descendants of Aeneas. The reverse of this coin depicts the moment when Aeneas rescued his aging father, Anchises, carrying him upon his shoulder and delivering him to safety during the mayhem as the city of Troy fell to the Greeks.