Caesar's 49 BC elephant denarius

Minted in 49 BC at a moving military mint, Caesar’s famous elephant denarius was struck to pay his legions as he crossed the Rubicon. It features a war elephant trampling a serpent on the obverse, and a collection of religious implements on the reverse. Caesar’s military campaigns were costly, and he needed vast sums of silver to pay his legions. Caesar took over the state treasury at the Temple of Saturn in Rome. From this hoard Caesar minted his elephant denarius, and used them to fund his campaigns.

The elephant denarius, the first coinage to bear Julius Caesar's name, had one of the largest mintages of any Roman Republican denarii with 750 known obverse dies. An estimated 22.5 million denarii were minted. Issuing them without Senate approval, indicated by the letters S-C (Senatus Consulto), was a clear signal. Caesar wouldn't share power with the Senate, as Republican law and custom dictated. The final issue offended the Roman Senate and elites by displaying his portrait on the obverse with his proclaimed new title, “DICT PERPETVO,” for dictator in perpetuity.