TheNewYorkSaleauctionXL

1189

Augustus. Silver Denarius (3.72 g), 27 BC-AD 14. Emerita(?), 17/6 BC. Bare head of Augustus right. Rev.

AVGVSTVS, capricorn right, holding globe attached to rudder; above, cornucopiae. (RIC 126 (Colonia

Patricia?); BN 1266-7; BMC 346-8; RSC 21).

Rare.

Well struck with wonderful surfaces and delicately toned.

Extremely fine.

$ 2,000

Augustus was born 23 September 63 BC and thus his solar zodiacal sign is Libra, yet he publicly identified as a Capricorn, his lunar

zodiacal sign. Why he did so is not known, but must have been for personal reasons. The capricorn figures prominently not only

in Augustan coinage (e.g., on certain Imperial denarii, on coins from Cibyra, Dioshieron, Leptis Magna, Parium, Smyrna, Tralles,

and on the cistophori of Asia Minor, amongst others) but also in other mediums, such as beads and cameos, and in literature (both

Manilius [

Astron.

2.507-9] and Suetonius [

Aug.

94.12] identify Augustus as a Capricorn).

1190

Augustus. Silver Denarius (3.78 g), 27 BC-AD 14. Rome, 13 BC. C. Antistius Reginus, moneyer. CAESAR

AVGVSTVS, bare head of Augustus right. Rev. C ANTISTIVS REGINVS around, III VIR in exergue,

sacrificial implements: simpulum and lituus above tripod and patera. (RIC 410; BN 542-7; BMCR 119-20;

RSC 347). Light iridescent toning. Extremely fine.

$ 2,000

The host of religious implements depicted on the reverse of this denarius advertise the religious authority of Augustus, who took

great pains to restore (sometimes going so far as to reinvent) the cults of Rome as a means of maintaining the

pax deorum

(“peace

of the gods”) or harmony between mankind and the gods. The simpulum was a type of ladle used to pour libations and frequently

served as a symbol of the pontifices, the highest Roman priestly college with fifteen priests; the lituus was a wand used by the augurs,

the college of priests charged with interpreting omens, while the tripod and patera are more general sacrificial emblems. Together

they represent the emperor’s preeminent position as Pontifex Maximus, the supreme priest of Rome.

1191

Augustus. Silver Denarius (3.76 g), 27 BC-AD 14. Lugdunum, 15 BC. AVGVSTVS DIVI F, bare head of

Augustus right. Rev. IMP X in exergue, bull butting right. (RIC 167a; Lyon 19; BN 1373-82; BMC 451; RSC

137). Boldly struck in high relief with luster remaining. Superb extremely fine.

$ 1,500