Heritage World Coin Auctions
Monthly Auction 271726 25 Jun 2017
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Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). AR denarius. NGC XF, bankers mark. Lugdunum, 12 BC. AVGVSTVS] - DIVI F, bare head of Augustus right / Capricorn right, holding globe; below, IMP · XI. RIC 174. RSC 147. Rare! Handsome high-relief portrait, lightly toned; tiny crescent baker's mark in reverse field.
According to Suetonius, Gaius Octavius, later known as Augustus, was born the morning of September 23, 63 BC, under the sign of Capricorn. Modern astrologers tend to favor the sun sign, but the ancients believed the rising moon was more important in a horoscope, so it is more likely Capricorn was his moon sign. Later in life, he placed great stress on his natal sign, as related in this account by Suetonius:
"In his retirement at Apollonia (a Greek colony in Illyria), Augustus went with his friend Agrippa to visit Theogenes the astrologer in his gallery on the roof. Agrippa, who first consulted the fates, had great and almost incredible things predicted of him. Augustus therefore did not wish to make known his nativity, and persisted for some time in the refusal, from a mixture of shame and fear, lest his own fate should be predicted as inferior to that of Agrippa. When Augustus had been persuaded, however, after much importunity, to declare his nativity, Theogenes started up from his seat and paid him adoration. Not long afterwards, Augustus was so confident of the greatness of his destiny that he published his horoscope, and struck a silver coin bearing the image of Capricorn, the sign under which he was born."
Why was the sign of Capricorn considered so important in establishing his right to rule? Three reasons suggest themselves: (1) Capricorn, in ancient times and now, was associated with stern moral authority; (2) Capricorn is the sign through which the sun passes at winter solstice and is, in a sense, reborn, like the Roman state in Augustus' propaganda; (3) Capricorn, then as now, was associated with the planet and god Saturn. According to Roman mythology, Saturn had come to live in Italy when his son Jupiter had kicked him out of heaven, and the age in which Saturn ruled as king over Italy was a "golden age" of paradise on earth. Virgil took up this theme in his treatment of Augustus' reign as a return of the Saturnian age. Late in life, Augustus issued a decree forbidding private or public persons from casting a horoscope, probably because he feared some of them might prove as auspicious as his and would incite a struggle for power upon his death.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 500-700 USD
Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). AR denarius. NGC XF, bankers mark. Lugdunum, 12 BC. AVGVSTVS] - DIVI F, bare head of Augustus right / Capricorn right, holding globe; below, IMP · XI. RIC 174. RSC 147. Rare! Handsome high-relief portrait, lightly toned; tiny crescent baker's mark in reverse field.
According to Suetonius, Gaius Octavius, later known as Augustus, was born the morning of September 23, 63 BC, under the sign of Capricorn. Modern astrologers tend to favor the sun sign, but the ancients believed the rising moon was more important in a horoscope, so it is more likely Capricorn was his moon sign. Later in life, he placed great stress on his natal sign, as related in this account by Suetonius:
"In his retirement at Apollonia (a Greek colony in Illyria), Augustus went with his friend Agrippa to visit Theogenes the astrologer in his gallery on the roof. Agrippa, who first consulted the fates, had great and almost incredible things predicted of him. Augustus therefore did not wish to make known his nativity, and persisted for some time in the refusal, from a mixture of shame and fear, lest his own fate should be predicted as inferior to that of Agrippa. When Augustus had been persuaded, however, after much importunity, to declare his nativity, Theogenes started up from his seat and paid him adoration. Not long afterwards, Augustus was so confident of the greatness of his destiny that he published his horoscope, and struck a silver coin bearing the image of Capricorn, the sign under which he was born."
Why was the sign of Capricorn considered so important in establishing his right to rule? Three reasons suggest themselves: (1) Capricorn, in ancient times and now, was associated with stern moral authority; (2) Capricorn is the sign through which the sun passes at winter solstice and is, in a sense, reborn, like the Roman state in Augustus' propaganda; (3) Capricorn, then as now, was associated with the planet and god Saturn. According to Roman mythology, Saturn had come to live in Italy when his son Jupiter had kicked him out of heaven, and the age in which Saturn ruled as king over Italy was a "golden age" of paradise on earth. Virgil took up this theme in his treatment of Augustus' reign as a return of the Saturnian age. Late in life, Augustus issued a decree forbidding private or public persons from casting a horoscope, probably because he feared some of them might prove as auspicious as his and would incite a struggle for power upon his death.
HID02901242017
Estimate: 500-700 USD