Hey friends, I came across this as of Augustus, RIC I 382. Is the moneyer CN PISO CN F on the reverse the same as the Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso in this wiki article?
Augustus’s moneyers only begun striking coins between 23-19 BC, so the office would have been too junior for that Piso. It’s likely to have been his son, who was eventually Consul with Tiberius in 7 BC.
Here’s a good paper on academia.edu with a rundown of Augustus’s moneyers with some examples of their coins. http://www.academia.edu/4763120/The_moneyers_issues_under_Augustus
Just read the article and certainly sounds like the same guy, dates tie in as well. I like the portrait the celator has given Augustus a nice Roman nose with not much jaw.
In a similar vein, I always wondered if the "M. Salvius Otho" moneyer on this ca. 7 BC As of Augustus was perhaps the grandfather (?) of the later 69 AD emperor of the same name.
Thanks, Z - I suspected as much. It sounded retrograde that a consul in 23 BC would be minting coin in 15. But it does make sense if it was his son, who then went on to be consul in 7. My understanding is that being in a college of tresviri monetales was a stepping stone to bigger things. Thanks for the link!
