In the last few years, progress on completing my Twelve Caesars AE collection (sestertii and dupondius/as) has been very slow. It was only after assembling the complete set of aurei and denarii that I decided to expand my collection to include sestertii and small bronzes, and even after five years some bronzes remain elusive. The recent NAC auction -- the first half of the Mike Gasvoda collection -- was beneficial in providing both a needed upgrade to one of my bronzes, as well as a difficult addition of a small bronze. I also have the great good fortune of sharing the same dealer who had guided Mike in the acquisition of the vast majority of his coins -- a dealer who was effusively praised in the actual NAC catalog issued in advance of the auction. This dealer was intimately acquainted with most of the coins and provided invaluable insight and suggestions. Bronzes of Augustus can be hard to find. When Augustus finally consolidated his rule, according to RIC: "... coinage had consisted, in its final stages, of a flood of silver denarii with intermittent aurei, supported by a token coinage of bronze which had become irregular in both weight and output; this aes, in fact, had not been produced at Rome since c.80 BC, succeeding decades having had to rely partly upon the remains of earlier aes issues." Augustus systematized Roman coinage and established the large orichalcum sestertius as its foundation, but never struck portrait sestertii at Rome during his lifetime. Portrait sestertii instead were struck mainly at Lugdunum (modern day Lyon), where Augustus erected the famous altar of the cult of Rome and Augustus. The sestertii and asses both contained this altar on their reverses. Although struck in great quantities, these bronzes saw heavy circulation and few survive today in other than heavily worn condition. My current coin is graded VF and has very good obverse portrait relief: AUGUSTUS AE Sestertius (25.72 g.) Lugdunum circa 9 - 14 A.D. CAESAR AVGVTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE Laureate head of Augustus r. Rev. ROM ET AVG Altar of Lugdunum. The reverse shows typical circulation wear but the main devices and legend are quite legible and this is a good coin for the issue. (This coin will be seeking a new home in the near future.) However, the NAC auction provided an opportunity for an upgrade that I couldn't resist: The obverse portrait and relief on this coin is even better than my first one, and the reverse devices are much better defined. Only the reverse legend (ROM ET AVG) is less well struck on this coin. Overall, an upgrade with which I'm quite pleased. Next: A difficult-to-find small bronze of an emperor who reigned only briefly.
The upgrade was definitely worth it, very nice. Augustus (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.) AR Tetradrachm Seleucis and Pieria. Antioch. O: KAIΣAPOΣ ΣEBAΣTOY, laureate head right. R: ANTIOXEΩN MHTPOΠOΛEΩΣ, Tyche seated right on rocky outcropping, holding palm frond; below, half-length figure of river-god Orontes swimming right; ςΛ (Actian Era date) above; in right field, ΔN (Caesarean Era date) above monogram (=ANTIOXIEΩN?) Dated year 36 of the Actian Era and year 54 of the Caesarean Era (AD 6) Antioch Mint, 5 - 6 A.D 26.4mm 14.07g Prieur 57, RPC 4158, McAlee 187 Struck in the year that Augustus decided to banish Herod Archelaus from Judaea and set up the prefect/procurator system.
That's a very nice upgrade. The type is wonderful and I would like to have one, but it looks like I'll need to aim for a middle bronze.
I understand very well why you couldn't resist to acquire this sestertius. Just the price would have restrain me.... Q
I regret that I only have but one Augustus... I am looking for an AE: Roman Empire AR Denarius, 17.03mm, 3.76g Augustus (27 BCE - 14 CE) Lugdunum mint (2 BCE - 4 CE) REV: C L CAESARES AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT, Gaius and Lucius Caesars standing, shields and spears between them. Sear 1578, RIC 206
I, not a 12 Caesars fan, was unaware of the situation on Augustus sestertii when I went on acsearch looking to see how bad they were. I saw one at $26,000 that struck me as the level coin we have come to expect in the collections of IOM and our other higher end members. I was amazed at how bad some of the coins that sold for four digits really were. I'm with TIF here when it comes to smaller coins. There are quite a few posthumous issues for Augustus that might be good for the likes of me. My only one at present is a holey Nerva.
Augustus, AE Quadrans S.C. & Simpulum/Lituus Augustus, Spain Celsa, AE As Augustus & Bull Divus Augustus, AE Sestertius Car being hauled by 4 elephants & SC
An excellent upgrade! This sale proved quite difficult in which to buy much. I managed to purchase just one coin but the large number of collectors chasing after the top pieces further indicates just how popular and challenging building Twelve Caesars sets has become. I've spoken with Mike Gasvoda and the second part of the collection will be equally impressive, which will undoubtedly again attract the attention of much of the collecting world.
