I got the kind of Augustus denarius I always wanted :)

Ever since I started collecting Roman denarii I’ve put off on buying one of Augustus because I was very particular about the kind of denarius I wanted of his.

Firstly: I wanted an Augustus denarius on a nice big flan.

Secondly: I wanted an Augustus denarius with a simple portrait of Augustus on the obverse without all the “IMP CAESAR TRP COS PP” etc., writing all around it.

I love that Augustus often didn’t put any writing on his denarii because if you didn’t know who he was just by his portrait than frankly you probably weren’t important enough.

Not only that but in leaving out all the titles and proclamations allows for more space on the obverse dedicated to the portrait.


Lastly: I wanted an Augustus denarius with a “somewhat” interesting reverse and not something boring like a Goddess standing there.

I think a war trophy on the prow of a ship is much cooler than Aequitas standing there holding a set of scales ^_^.



Octavian, as Sole Imperator (30-27 BC). AR denarius (20mm, 3.93 gm, 9h). NGC XF 5/5 - 4/5.Italian mint (Brundisium or Rome?), ca. 30-29 BC. Bare head of Octavian right; linear border / IMP-CAESAR, naval and military trophy on prow right, crossed rudder and anchor at base. RIC I 265a.

 

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You made a great choice. Augustus actually has many interesting reverse types. Yours is one I rarely see. Wonderful portrait too. Congrats.

 

Thanks!

Do you think maybe the reverse was some sort of reference by Augustus to the Battle of Actium where he & Agrippa defeated Antony & Cleopatra?

That’s the only real fighting I can think of from around the time of this coin being minted.

Or do you think he just likes boats?

 

Great new addition to the collection. Probably is a memorial about the victory at Actium.

 

Wonderful coin, congratulations!

 

Beautiful!

 

An amazing battle!

According to the painters it went something like this xD

 

Thanks Donna!

 

Thanks!

 

Congratulations-- terrific coin, great choice of type . I agree about anepigraphic obverses-- they're just so elegant.

 

The coin is excellent. Congratulations.
I also think the anepigraphic obverses are desirable - like a bridge between the Republic and the Empire.
I do not have an Augustus denarius yet. When I will get one, it will be a similar design as I simply got "bored" of seeing (and losing) the Caius and Lucius denarius again and again and again.

 

You picked up a very beautiful coin, @Gam3rBlake.
Excellent portrait, with a nice war trophy reverse design.

 

I knew there was a word for it!

Anepigraphic!

I just couldn’t remember what it was. xD

Thanks!

 

Absolutely! I imagine Augustus must have been a very confident man in the sense of not feeling a need to identify or praise himself on his own coinage.

He knew everybody absolutely knew who he was.

 

Thanks! It is definitely now one of my favorite denarii. XD

 

Anepigraphic denarii of Octavian are highly desirable and its not hard to see why! Congrats

Here are two of my anepigraphic issues

 

@Gam3rBlake, there is a multiquote feature that you may wish to utilize in order to keep from having to frequently bump the thread for individual "thank you for your kind reply" comments .

Once a handful of people have responded to your thread and you feel the need to thank them for their comments, just click the "+ Quote" link at the bottom right of the post. Or, if someone posted a lengthy comment and you want to excerpt part of it, just click and drag to highlight the part you wish to quote and select "+ Quote" to the box that pops up. Keep harvesting quotes and then go to the reply box and click "Insert Quotes" (bottom right of the reply box). Then you can efficiently thank all of the people who commented without repeatedly bumping the thread . You can even rearrange all of the harvested quotes before pasting them into your reply.

 

Great coin! Thanks for sharing!

 

Wonderful denarius @Gam3rBlake.

This type was part of a series of aurei and denarii that were struck between autumn 30 BC - Autumn 29 BC and conveying amessage of victory and re-foundation.

Sear associated this denarius with a contemporary aureus showing on its reverse a similar trophy; the obverse of it, a bust of Diana Siciliensis, led him to argue that the aureus commemorated Octavian’s important victory over Sextus Pompey at the Battle of Naulochus in 36 BC.

The reverse of the OP denarius leaves the specific victory unspecified. The most likely possibility is it commemorates Agrippa’s victory over Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous September, the final triumph for Octavian.

 

@Gam3rBlake , that coin is a real beauty. Are you going to crack it out?

Augustus minted a wide variety of attractive coins. I assembled reference works and sale catalogs that emphasize coins of Augustus here:
http://augustuscoins.com/ed/catalogs/Augustus.html
Anyone specializing in coins of Augustus will want those books and catalogs.

Here is my favorite anepigraphic Augustus.


19 mm. 3.80 grams.
Rostral (i.e. with ships' beaks) column surmounted by a cloaked figure (Octavian?).
RIC I 271 "celebrating the capture of Antony's ships" Struck c. 29-27 BC.

Bought from Jon Kern at the summer ANA, July 30,1993.