First Augustus

My second coin arrived in the mail the other day and it’s a type I’m very happy to have a acquired. I have been looking for an Augustus that was in my price range for some time now that was not the common Gaius and Lucius type. This type commemorates the return of the lost Roman standards from the Parthians.


Augustus 27 BC-AD 14. AR Denarius (19mm 3.48g). Spanish mint (Colonia Patricia?) Struck circa 19BC. Bare head right / SIGNIS RECEPTIS, round shield inscribed CL V, Aquila to left, signum to right, SPQR around. RIC 86a.

 

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Welcome to the board and a wonderful choice.


Augustus (27 BC-14 AD)
AR Tetradrachm
Syria-Antiochia ad Orontem
O: KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEB_AΣTOY, Laureate head right
R: ETOYΣ-ZK-NIKHΣ, Tyche seated right on rocks, palm branch in left hand, river god Orontes swimming right below, YPA monogram, IB / ANT monogram in right field Regnal Year 27 (5/4 BC), COS 12.
27mm
14.06g
Prieur 51; RPC 4152; McAlee 181
Ex David Hendin, 2004

Note: The ZK breaking the reverse legend is the regnal year 27, IB is for consulship 12. Minted in what is possibly the year of the birth of Jesus Christ.


Augustus, with Agrippa (27. B.C. 14 A.D.)
GAUL, Nemausus
Æ As
O: Heads of Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown and laurel wreath, and Augustus right, wearing oak wreath, back to back. IMP above, DIVI F below.
R: Crocodile right chained to palm branch with long vertical fronds; above, wreath with long ties, palms below; COL NEM flanking vertical palm.
Nemausus mint, 9-3 B.C
10.26g
27mm
RPC I 524; RIC 1 158

 

Excellent choice for a first Augustus @Niccolo , here's my example of a related coin (Augustus issued quite a few varieties of Signis Receptis, clearly he wanted everyone to know about this accomplishment):

 

Excellent acquisition, a type on my want list
One can find a related reverse on a Germanicus dupondius


Posthumous issue of Caligula, in honour of his father Germanicus (died AD 19)
Rome mint, AD 37-41
GERMANICVS CAESAR, Germanicus in triumphal quadriga right
SIGNIS RECEPT DEVICTIS GERM, Germanicus standing left, rising right arm, holding legionnary eagle
17.79 gr
Ref : RCV #1820, Cohen #7

Q

 

Now that's how you show up on the Augustus scene! Very nice
Here's some of my Augys:

 

Nice collection of Augustus, Ryro.

 

Thanks! Likewise. That tet is a beauty. And ex Hendin. Very nice

 

That's a beautiful example of the type, and a great choice. Here's my example, which has a very worn and off-center reverse, although I'm fond of the obverse:

Augustus AR Denarius, 19 BCE, Colonia Patricia [Cordoba] Mint. Obv. CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head right / Rev: SIGNIS RECEPTIS and SP QR, above and below; aquila (left) & standard (right) flanking shield incribed CL V. RIC I 86, RSC I 265, Sear RCV I 1633. 18mm, 3.8 g. [The Senate awarded Augustus the 'shield of valour' (clipeus virtutis) for recovering the standards lost to the Parthians by Crassus.]

 

Nice examples, all!

I don't own a coin of Augustus featuring only his portrait, an omission that I hope to address in the future.

I do have a provincial as featuring August and Agrippa, and a crocodile kept at bay with a chain connected to a palm tree, purchased from Roma last year.

Augustus and Agrippa, circa 10 to 14 AD
Nemausus, Gaul

12.02 grams

 

As far as I know, but I may be wrong, the clipeus virtutis (CL V), Latin for "shield of bravery" was awarded to Augustus by the Senate and people of Rome in 27 BC for his "Bravery, clemency, justice and piety" and displayed in the Curia Iulia. Like the corona civica, the clipeus virtutis was awarded for saving the life of a fellow citizen. A golden clipeus virtutis, shield of virtue, was displayed in the senate house to commemorate Augustus' virtues.

The coin refers to the Parthian surrender to Augustus of the standards by "SIGNIS RECEPTIS"

 

That's a very nice first Augustus!

 

Thank you everyone for the kind words. I enjoy seeing your examples too.

 

Congrats! It is a great coin. I like my Tarpeia reverse which is a replay of a RR reverse.

Augustus denarius Rome, 19 BC, Obv - bare head of Augustus right; Rev - Tarpeia standing facing, hands raised, buried to the waist in a pile of shields.

 

Like @rrdenarius's above, here's another Augustus courtesy of the moneyer P. Petronius Turpilianus.

AUGUSTUS
AR Denarius. 3.64g, 19.9mm, Rome mint, 19-18 BC, P. Petronius Turpilianus, moneyer. RIC 297 (R2). O: CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head right. R: P PETRON TVRPILIAN III VIR, Pegasus walking right.

My Tarpeia arrived this past week, a holed fourrée -

 

Augustus, 27 BC-AD 14. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.73g, 4h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, 15-13 BC. Obv: AVGVSTVS-DIVI F; Bare head right. Rev: Diana standing, head right, holding bow and javelin, hound before her, IMP X across field; SICIL in exergue. Ref: RIC 173a. Choice Very Fine, nice old toning. The reverse of this coin commemorates the defeat of Sextus Pompey at Naulochus in 36 BC. Along with Apollo, Diana was one of the deities to whom the Saecular Games were dedicated. Ex Knobloch Collection (Stack's May 1980, Lot 80). Ex Stack's (Nov 2003), Lot 139.

 

I believe you bought your Augustus denarius from Heracles Numismatics on Vcoins?

Here is my Augustus denarius:



AUGUSTUS 27 BC - AD 14 AR Denarius. 3.51g, 19.3mm MINTED: Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, 15 BC REF: RIC I 167a; Lyon 19; RSC 137 OBVERSE: AVGVSTVS DIVI F, bare head right. REVERSE: Bull butting right, left forefoot raised, lashing his tail; IMP • X in exergue.

Ex. Minotaur Coins

 

According to Mary Beard (SPQR, p.280): "The standards [lost by Crassus] remained a proud piece of Parthian booty until the emperor Augustus, by some adept diplomacy dressed up as a military achievement, brought them back to Rome in 19 BC."

 

That's lovely, @Niccolo! Not a reverse type one sees every day, either!

This provincial is one of my favorites of Augustus.


Augustus, 27 BC - AD 14.
Roman provincial AE 23.
Macedon, Amphipolis, 10.25 g, 23.3 mm, 1 h.
Obv: ΚΑΙΣΑΡ ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙΟΣ, bare-head, right.
Rev: ΑΜΦΙΠΟΛΙΕΙΤΩΝ, Artemis Tauropolos with inflated veil, riding on bull wearing Isiac basileion between its horns and galloping right.
Refs: RPC I, 1626; BMC 5.52,73; SNG Cop 89-91; SNG ANS 164-65; Lindgren 963; Sear Greek Imperial 29.
Notes: The basileion of Isis is a crown composed of a solar disc with uraeus between two horns, flanked by feathers. On the iconography of the Isiac basileion, see R. Veymiers, "Le basileion, les reines et Actium", in L. Bricault & M.J. Versluys (eds.), Power, Politics and the Cults of Isis, Leiden 2014, p. 195-236 (esp. p. 195-6).

 

Thank you. Your coin is beautiful I hope to have an Augustus with a tarpeia reverse someday.

Yes I bought my coin from Herakles on Vcoins. Super fast shipping. I think it’s the fastest USPS has ever brought something to my house.

 

Congrats! I got my first Augustus last week too

This one was meant to commemorate the Battle of Actium and defeat of Marc Antony and the beautiful Cleopatra.


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.