Common type, but if you like looking at coins of Augustus...

First century Roman is not one of my areas of focus, but for a long while I had been looking to add a coin of Augustus with a nice profile to it (I've had coins of Augustus before but not as good condition as this one). This goal was not high on my list, so it was on the backburner for a while, until earlier this year when I came across this one, and so I knew I had to have it.

Augustus, Roman Empire
AR denarius
Obv: CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE, laureate head right.
Rev: C L CAESARES AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT, Gaius and Lucius Caesars standing facing, shields and spears between them; simpulum and lituus above; X below.
Mint: Lugdunum
Ref: RIC I 212; Lyon 86; RSC 43d.



Everyone here knows Augustus's life story, so I'll just post a map of the empire during the last year of Augustus's life:



Feel free to post your Augustus/Octavian coins!

 

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A matching pair :

 

That's lovely, @ValientKnight.

Here's one of Augustus.


Divus Augustus, 27 BC - 14 AD.
Roman Æ as, 9.30 g, 28.4 mm, 7 h.
Rome, issued under Tiberius, AD 22-30.
Obv: DIVVS·AVGVSTVS·PATER, head of Augustus, radiate, left.
Rev: PROVIDENT S C, Altar-enclosure with double paneled door; surmounted by uncertain ornaments.
Refs: RIC 81; BMCRE 146; Cohen (Augustus) 228; RCV 1789.

 

I have four Augustus coins, including one that's the same type as yours, @ValiantKnight. If people have one Augustus coin, it tends to be that one for whatever reason:









I have nothing from when he was known as Octavian, though. Any coin categorized as Octavian's automatically costs about three times as much as a coin of Augustus.

 

Beautiful coins
This is my ‘grandchildren coin’ with the youthful face of grandpa Augustus.


Augustus, denarius.
RIC I 207, RSC 43.
Lugdunum mint.
19.5 mm, 3.8 g
Obv. CAESAR AVGVSTVS DIVI F PATER PATRIAE, laureate head right.
Rev. AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT, C L CAESARES below, Gaius and Lucius standing front, each with a hand resting on a round shield, a spear, and in field above, a lituus right and simpulum left.

Gaius and Lucius were adopted in 17 BC by their maternal grandfather Augustus, who named the two boys his heirs. They were raised and educated by their grandparents. Lucius died in Gaul of an illness in 2 A.D and Gaius died two years later in Lycia, after being wounded during a campaign in Artagira. The death of both Gaius and Lucius, the Emperor's two most favored heirs, compelled Augustus to adopt his stepson, Tiberius, and his sole remaining grandson, Postumus Agrippa as his new respective heirs.

 

When buying, look carefully as there are also restitution issues (rare) from the time of Trajan or Hadrian, where the lituus has a split base and is turned to the right, and the simpulum is large, bulbous, and turned to the left, not seen on the issues of Augustus.

Here's my Augustus denarius (not a restitution issue) which also varies in detail of the pontifical items - it is like the one posted by @DonnaML, and @Marsman and different from the other two posted so far.

Augustus, 27 BC-14 AD, AR denarius, Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, struck 2 BC-4 AD. Obv: CAESAR AVGVSTVS - DIVI F PATER PATRIAE, Laureate head right
Rev: AVGVSTI F COS DESIG PRINC IVVENT, Gaius and Lucius standing, facing; shield and spears between them; simpulum (right) and lituus (left) above
Ref: RIC I 207
Note: the simpulum, sign of priesthood, an "insignia pontificalia" used at sacrifices to make libations and the lituus Augurum, the augural staff, symbolizing Augustus as the Roman people's link with the gods

Grandchildren for sale: All may know that this was issued to commemorate the adoption of Gaius and Lucius Caesars, the grandsons of Augustus by Marcus Agrippa & Augustus' daughter Julia, heirs to the throne. However - did you know that he "bought" them from their father in a ritual "purchase" that involves touching a balance (libra) 3 times with a with an As, in the presence of the praetor?

Seutonius writes: "Gaius and Lucius he adopted at home, privately buying them from their father by a symbolic sale, and initiated them into administrative life when they were still young, sending them to the provinces and the armies as consuls elect. In bringing up his daughter and his granddaughters he even had them taught spinning and weaving, and he forbade them to say or do anything except openly and such as might be recorded in the household diary."

The second sentence an interesting thought on good governance/citizenship with modern equivalent: never do or say anything you wouldn't want to read about on the front page of the newspaper.

 

Here's a recent, COVID period acquisition to my collection. This AR denarius was issued circa 16 BCE when Augustus, as part of his political mirage of maintaining the Republic, brought back moneyers after a near 20 year absence. The moneyer, L. Mescinius Rufus, is named on reverse. Ex Count Alessandro Magnaguti Collection, P&P Santamaria Auction (1949).

 

Very fun coin that is a candidate to be the Actual bible penny.
Interesting how we have a fairly split amount of left shields in front as well as right. I thought the right shield in front was considerably more rare:

 

My only Augustus so far, not the best condition but I like it and the price was very good.
Antioch, AD 4-5
Obverse: AVGVST·TR·POT; laureate head of Augustus, r., ΕΛ in monogram under the head
Reverse: SC; inscription in a laurel wreath of eight leaves

 

Great looking coin ValiantKnight, surfaces look good as well, congrats.

 

My friend that is an awesome coin. It is coins like these that got me into collecting in the first place.

 

Donna, that COL NEM is great!

 

Wow VK, that coin has gravitas.

 

Half of my Augustus denarii are plated and I suggest everyone be wary of fourrees when buying coins of the last half of the first century BC and first half of the first century AD. I particularly like this one which has just enough core exposure to be obviously plated and a really classic example of the seam on the obverse where the silver foils overlapped. The coin is in my 'technical' collection and fits my tastes better than a solid silver one would. The coin is also special to me as once in the collection of my friend who taught me to appreciate technical collecting, the late Grant Edwards.

 

Snap! I did read on this forum that this type is less common, with the star between Lucius and Gaius with right shield forward.

 

Notice also the position of the two priestly implements switched of the flipped version. One would expect some variations in a type issued in great numbers.

 

Nice one @ValiantKnight, with a noble portrait. Here's mine.

 

That is a really nice OP coin and a good photograph of it too. Nice pickup.

John

 

AUGUSTUS


RI Augustus AR Denarius struck 2 BC-14 AD Caius and Lucius Caesars stdg shield spear S 1578