Described by Syndenham as the “Highest level” of Roman numismatic art, the coins of M. Plaetorius Cestianus stand as witness to a fascinating period of history. Not only was Julius Caesar serving as quaestor in Spain (as this was nearly a decade before his famed Gallic campaign), the last Ptolemaic (Cleopatra) was born, and war raged across the eastern Mediterranean in Armenia, Parthia, and Greece! Several years after serving as Moneyer, Plaetorius served as Praetor in 64 BC, then as the governor of Macedonia, and later served under Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther during his governorship in Cilicia.