Augustus Denarius

I've come across a few of the bull types but not with a fine style left facing Augustus. A broader flan would've been nice, but still a really sweet coin.
Attribution: Augustus. AR. Denarius. Lugdunum, 15 BC. AVGVSTVS DIVI F Bare head of Augustus facing left. Rev IMP.X Bull with head lowered, to right. RIC 167b. Thoughts appreciated, post yours!

 

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Broad flans and nice centering are surprisingly hard to come by on early denarii; yours is a beautiful coin.

Here are my Augustus denarii:





(With a newfound pedigree thanks for a friend's hunting! Ex. Munzhandlung Basel 10, 1938 lot 523 )

 

those are stunning. Congrats!

 

We once played a game here where we tried to guess which of us owned a specific coin. It demonstrated that we know the 'look' of coins that appeal to each of our regular posters. Ancient Joe is rightly known as owner of the finest coins available. On the other hand, my coin of the type is a fourree that came to me in 1987 and was my first plated coin.

 

We should try that game again; however, I'm pretty sure I can tell your images from most @dougsmit

 

Agree , very nice Augustus @Steelers72!

Here are my two:


Augustus, Ruled 27 BC-14 AD
AR Denarius, Lugdunum Mint, Struck 2 BC-4 AD
Obverse: CAESAR AV[GVS]TVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE Laureate head of Augustus to right.
Reverse: AVGV[STI F C]OS [DESIG PRINC IVVENT] / [C] L CAESARES•, Gaius and Lucius Caesar standing, each, togate, resting hand on shield and spear, simpulum, left, and lituus, right, flanking, right and left respectively
References: RIC 210, RSC 43c
Size: 19.5mm, 3.6g
Ex: Pliego, 43rd Online Auction (March 26, 2019), Lot #81


Augustus, Ruled 27 BC-14 AD
AR Denarius, Struck 19-18 BC, Uncertain mint in Spain, possibly Colonia Caesaraugusta.
Obverse: CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head right.
Reverse: OB CIVIS / [SERVATOS], oak wreath with ties upward.
References: RIC I 40a
Size: 17mm, 3.68g
Ex: Ancient and Medieval Coins Canada, Auction 1, Lot #166 (12/1/2018)
Ex: CT Member @Severus Alexander
Notes: Banker’s mark (“F”) in left field of obverse, traces of gilding and mount (12 o’clock on obverse).

 

Denarii of Octavius/Augustus. the second one listed is Octavius as Apollo.

 

hard to choose which one I like the best - all are stunning. Thanks for sharing!

 

A beautiful set, @octavius ! Your coins show the great range of portraiture for Octavian/Augustus.

 

Augustus is one of those weird emperors where you can find ratty examples all day long, but you better be prepared to shell out 4 digits for anything nice that isn't a Gaius + Lucius denarius.

This is currently the only Augustus AR in my collection - Cistophori count as 3 denarii in a collection, right?



I'm pleased with the quality/price tradeoff. It isn't hard to see nicer examples of this exact type hammer in the $1,000-2,000 range.

I'm eventually looking to get a couple early Octavian denarii, especially one of those bearded ones like @octavius posted!

 

Very very nice, @Steelers72. I especially love the bull on it.

 

Great coins everyone! And @octavius, that is an impressive set of Augustus/Octavian coins. Just WOW!

That's a great coin, sharp portrait and the body of de bull shows muscles/lines making it really come alive. Only tiny downside is that the reverse is slightly struck off flan. But hey, if this coin were in my collection, I would be more then pleased!

When it comes to my two denarii of Augustus, your coin is definately in another league... But I am very happy with them. And soon they will be joined by another denarius, which I will show later

Rough, but historically very interesting. The reverse looks like an alien. A hint of some sort of historical, extraterestrial intervention changing the course of history? ;-) [insert Twilight Zone tune here]


This type has always appealed to me. I did a little write-up earlier, on this board. The only reason I could afford this, is because both sides are struck off flan.

 

I find the non portrait denarii of Augustus both interesting and attractive :


Augustus AR Denarius. 27 BC - AD 14. Spanish mint (Colonia Patricia?), circa 18 BC. Aquila, toga picta over tunica palmata, and wreath; S•P•Q•R• PAR(ENT) above, CONS•SVO below / Slow quadriga right, RIC 99


Bust of Venus / Neptune standing on globe RIC 256




TVRPILIANVS III VIR / FE RON.
Diademed and draped bust of Feronia right.
Rev: CAESAR AVGVSTVS SIGN RECE.
Parthian kneeling right in attitude of submission, offering up vexillum (marked X) and extending hand.

RIC² 288.

 

I regret the tendency in the hobby to curse the glass half empty rather than enjoy the glass half full.

There are a thousand categories by which we might rank coins and it is extremely rare to find one coin that leads in every one of them. Limes pointed out the bull muscles which are wonderful on that coin. We all have heard of fine style and fine portrait but the minor details come to play without being mentioned. Some have nicer hair, a better mouth, natural expression, a bull with gracefully curving tail --- all combine to give interest and beauty for those who choose to find them.

Certainly! Not having a portrait can produce a new layer of interesting features. Few would select it as the 'one and only' Augustus but I certainly enjoy mine despite its horrific faults that disqualify it from most collections.


Of course many of us would have more coins of Augustus where it not for their biggest 'fault' in my book. They are too popular. Too many people who know next to nothing about Roman history know Augustus and want a coin of his. Were his coins as common as they are but with the demand of issues by an absolute nobody, we would call them 'cockroaches'.

I believe this is the only example in Roman coinage where coins showing heirs apparent as a reverse type are looked down upon rather than being preferred. We like almost all family coins but I certainly value my C&L below any other coin of Augustus. I'm fickle. Of all the coins shown so far in this thread, only one was a C&L. My personal example is not fine style and not much of a coin to the point I won't show it now. If Rodney Dangerfield had collected coins, this might have been his specialty.

 

That coin is SWEET, @Steelers72 ! You are justifiably proud to have acquired that one!

 

This is a beautiful denarius. I noticed that this coin and others you’ve posted are active listings. Are these coins you are interested in purchasing? I don’t think posting a listing on the forum violates any rules...In any case I was just curious. I’ve always wanted to post coins I’m interested in, but I worry about unnecessarily driving the price up

 

Silly me. I was under the impression that the OP coin was in possession of the poster...
Same goes for the Caligula and Galba denarii posted. Perhaps no rule, but I wonder why these posts?