Heritage World Coin Auctions
CICF Signature Sale 3040 Online Sess. 13-14 April 2015
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Ancients
Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). AR denarius (3.87 gm). Rome, 19 BC. Petronius Turpilianus, moneyer. Bare head of Augustus right / Tarpeia standing facing, hands raised, buried to the waist in a pile of shields. RIC 299. RSC 494. Scarce! Banker's mark's on cheek, neck and behind head; graffito Z in reverse field. Good Very Fine. There are two variant legends concerning Tarpeia, a maiden of Rome's mythical founding years. One story, probably the earliest, holds that she agreed to betray Rome to the Sabines by opening the city gates, in return for which she would receive what the Sabine soldiers wore on their left arms. She meant their heavy golden bracelets, but after the deed, the soldiers "rewarded" her buy crushing her under their shields, which they also "wore" on their left arms. A later version of the story holds that Tarpeia was in fact trying to save Rome by disarming the Sabines and thus died a martyr's death. It may be this later version of the story, which paints Tarpeia is a heroine, represented on this denarius of Augustus.
Estimate: 400-600 USD
Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). AR denarius (3.87 gm). Rome, 19 BC. Petronius Turpilianus, moneyer. Bare head of Augustus right / Tarpeia standing facing, hands raised, buried to the waist in a pile of shields. RIC 299. RSC 494. Scarce! Banker's mark's on cheek, neck and behind head; graffito Z in reverse field. Good Very Fine. There are two variant legends concerning Tarpeia, a maiden of Rome's mythical founding years. One story, probably the earliest, holds that she agreed to betray Rome to the Sabines by opening the city gates, in return for which she would receive what the Sabine soldiers wore on their left arms. She meant their heavy golden bracelets, but after the deed, the soldiers "rewarded" her buy crushing her under their shields, which they also "wore" on their left arms. A later version of the story holds that Tarpeia was in fact trying to save Rome by disarming the Sabines and thus died a martyr's death. It may be this later version of the story, which paints Tarpeia is a heroine, represented on this denarius of Augustus.
Estimate: 400-600 USD