Heritage World Coin Auctions
Long Beach Signature Sale 3042 Online Sess. 21-22 Sep 2015
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Ancients
Gaius Caesar (20 BC-AD 4). AR denarius (18mm, 3.75 gm, 5h). Uncertain mint, ca. 17 BC. CAESAR, youthful male head right (Gaius Caesar?), oak wreath around / AVG-VST, candelabrum with three ram's-head finials on upper part of base, garland around exhibiting two bucrania and three paterae. RIC 540. Rare! NGC Fine 4/5 - 2/5.Although some numismatic scholars have reattributed this rare type to Augustus himself, the portrait is clearly not that of Augustus as he appeared in 17 BC, about the time this coin was struck at an uncertain mint in Roman Achaia or Asia. The portrait is that of a pre-adolescent boy, and suggestions that this merely represents a "rejuvenated" Augustus are unsupported by any real evidence. The type does seem connected to the Ludi Saeculares of 17 BC, the year in which Augustus officially adopted Gaius and his newborn brother, so identifying the youthful portrait as that of the newly named successor remains the most plausible attribution.
Estimate: 600-900 USD
Gaius Caesar (20 BC-AD 4). AR denarius (18mm, 3.75 gm, 5h). Uncertain mint, ca. 17 BC. CAESAR, youthful male head right (Gaius Caesar?), oak wreath around / AVG-VST, candelabrum with three ram's-head finials on upper part of base, garland around exhibiting two bucrania and three paterae. RIC 540. Rare! NGC Fine 4/5 - 2/5.Although some numismatic scholars have reattributed this rare type to Augustus himself, the portrait is clearly not that of Augustus as he appeared in 17 BC, about the time this coin was struck at an uncertain mint in Roman Achaia or Asia. The portrait is that of a pre-adolescent boy, and suggestions that this merely represents a "rejuvenated" Augustus are unsupported by any real evidence. The type does seem connected to the Ludi Saeculares of 17 BC, the year in which Augustus officially adopted Gaius and his newborn brother, so identifying the youthful portrait as that of the newly named successor remains the most plausible attribution.
Estimate: 600-900 USD