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Auction: 312 - Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1178

Augustus (27 BC-14 AD), AR Denarius, 3.88gms, Emerita, struck 19-18 BC, laureate head left, CAESAR AVGVSTVS, rev. DIVVS IVLIVS, eight-rayed comet with tail ( RIC 37b, RSC 97, BMCCR Gaul 138-9), attractive types set on a broad flan with superb old cabinet toning, good silver quality, extremely fine, a choice example. Augustus cleverly used coinage as a political medium and this denarius is a bold example of his adroit steerage. On the obverse, Augustus wears the corona civica, the oak wreath bestowed upon an individual who has saved the life of a citizen. Here it is implied that the emperor has rescued the collective citizen body of Rome. The ubiquitous Augustan tie-in to Julius Caesar, meanwhile, fills the reverse which depicts the comet viewed in the Roman sky during the days of July 44 BC and which was associated with the deification of Julius Caesar. Purchased on approval from Frederick S. Knobloch´s May 1967 listing for $195. Includes note signed by Knobloch.

Sold for
$7,250