Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVIII 29 Sep 2019
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Augustus AV Aureus. Lugdunum, 15-13 BC. AVGVSTVS DIVI F, bare head right / Bull charging to left; IMP X in exergue. RIC 168; C. 140; Bahrfeldt 203; BMCRE 457; BN 1388; Calicó 214 (this coin). Augustus AV Aureus. Lugdunum, 15-13 BC. AVGVSTVS DIVI F, bare head right / Bull charging to left; in exergue. RIC 168; C. 140; Bahrfeldt 203; BMCRE 457; BN 1388; Calicó 214 (this coin). 7.77g, 18mm, 7h.
About Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Collection of a Retired Banker;
Ex Auktionshaus Meister & Sonntag, Auction 14, 7 May 2012, lot 585 (hammer: EUR 20,000);
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica I, 19 May 1999, lot 1664.
Minted as part of a series to celebrate victory in the wars of expansion led by Drusus and Tiberius against the Alpine tribes, this coin is part of the rich tapestry of new imperial iconography designed to present the impression of a divinely sanctioned Augustan rule (Zanker, 1990, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus). On the obverse, an unmistakable portrait of the youthful Augustus displays his iconic locks arranged carefully across his forehead, but it is the reverse of this coin that alludes to ancestral tales of the Julio-Claudians and offers an insight into the mechanisms of Augustan image making.
The charging bull or heifer is multi-facetted in its symbolism, on the one hand it can be likened to a similar motif carried by Caesar's legions on their standards representing the unstoppable power of Rome –it is first and foremost used as a sacrificial animal for Mars Ultor. On the other hand, it can be seen to resemble a famous type from Thurium, a city to which the family of Augustus had a connection: Suetonius relates that Gaius Octavius, Augustus' natural father, defeated a Spartacist army near the town. Due to the high regard in which the family was held in the town, Augustus had been given the surname Thurinus at birth, and thus the type primarily represents a deeply personal allusion to the emperor and his father Gaius Octavius.
While these interpretations might appear divergent, what links them together is that they all proclaim the strength of the Augustan dynasty. This fact is further embellished by the very site where this coin was minted, which itself prospered greatly under Augustan rule, as later described by Strabo: Lugdunum itself, situated on a hill, at the confluence of the Saone and the Rhone, belongs to the Romans. It is the most populous city after Narbonne. It carries on a great commerce, and the Roman prefects here coin both gold and silver money (Strab. 4.3.2).
About Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Collection of a Retired Banker;
Ex Auktionshaus Meister & Sonntag, Auction 14, 7 May 2012, lot 585 (hammer: EUR 20,000);
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction I, 19 May 1999, lot 1664.
Minted as part of a series to celebrate victory in the wars of expansion led by Drusus and Tiberius against the Alpine tribes, this coin is part of the rich tapestry of new imperial iconography designed to present the impression of a divinely sanctioned Augustan rule (Zanker, 1990, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus). On the obverse, an unmistakable portrait of the youthful Augustus displays his iconic locks arranged carefully across his forehead, but it is the reverse of this coin that alludes to ancestral tales of the Julio-Claudians and offers an insight into the mechanisms of Augustan image making.
The charging bull or heifer is multi-facetted in its symbolism, on the one hand it can be likened to a similar motif carried by Caesar's legions on their standards representing the unstoppable power of Rome –it is first and foremost used as a sacrificial animal for Mars Ultor. On the other hand, it can be seen to resemble a famous type from Thurium, a city to which the family of Augustus had a connection: Suetonius relates that Gaius Octavius, Augustus' natural father, defeated a Spartacist army near the town. Due to the high regard in which the family was held in the town, Augustus had been given the surname Thurinus at birth, and thus the type primarily represents a deeply personal allusion to the emperor and his father Gaius Octavius.
While these interpretations might appear divergent, what links them together is that they all proclaim the strength of the Augustan dynasty. This fact is further embellished by the very site where this coin was minted, which itself prospered greatly under Augustan rule, as later described by Strabo: Lugdunum itself, situated on a hill, at the confluence of the Saone and the Rhone, belongs to the Romans. It is the most populous city after Narbonne. It carries on a great commerce, and the Roman prefects here coin both gold and silver money (Strab. 4.3.2).
About Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Collection of a Retired Banker;
Ex Auktionshaus Meister & Sonntag, Auction 14, 7 May 2012, lot 585 (hammer: EUR 20,000);
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica I, 19 May 1999, lot 1664.
Minted as part of a series to celebrate victory in the wars of expansion led by Drusus and Tiberius against the Alpine tribes, this coin is part of the rich tapestry of new imperial iconography designed to present the impression of a divinely sanctioned Augustan rule (Zanker, 1990, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus). On the obverse, an unmistakable portrait of the youthful Augustus displays his iconic locks arranged carefully across his forehead, but it is the reverse of this coin that alludes to ancestral tales of the Julio-Claudians and offers an insight into the mechanisms of Augustan image making.
The charging bull or heifer is multi-facetted in its symbolism, on the one hand it can be likened to a similar motif carried by Caesar's legions on their standards representing the unstoppable power of Rome –it is first and foremost used as a sacrificial animal for Mars Ultor. On the other hand, it can be seen to resemble a famous type from Thurium, a city to which the family of Augustus had a connection: Suetonius relates that Gaius Octavius, Augustus' natural father, defeated a Spartacist army near the town. Due to the high regard in which the family was held in the town, Augustus had been given the surname Thurinus at birth, and thus the type primarily represents a deeply personal allusion to the emperor and his father Gaius Octavius.
While these interpretations might appear divergent, what links them together is that they all proclaim the strength of the Augustan dynasty. This fact is further embellished by the very site where this coin was minted, which itself prospered greatly under Augustan rule, as later described by Strabo: Lugdunum itself, situated on a hill, at the confluence of the Saone and the Rhone, belongs to the Romans. It is the most populous city after Narbonne. It carries on a great commerce, and the Roman prefects here coin both gold and silver money (Strab. 4.3.2).
About Extremely Fine. Very Rare.
This coin published in X. Calicó, Los Aureos Romanos (2002);
Ex Collection of a Retired Banker;
Ex Auktionshaus Meister & Sonntag, Auction 14, 7 May 2012, lot 585 (hammer: EUR 20,000);
Ex Numismatica Ars Classica, Auction I, 19 May 1999, lot 1664.
Minted as part of a series to celebrate victory in the wars of expansion led by Drusus and Tiberius against the Alpine tribes, this coin is part of the rich tapestry of new imperial iconography designed to present the impression of a divinely sanctioned Augustan rule (Zanker, 1990, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus). On the obverse, an unmistakable portrait of the youthful Augustus displays his iconic locks arranged carefully across his forehead, but it is the reverse of this coin that alludes to ancestral tales of the Julio-Claudians and offers an insight into the mechanisms of Augustan image making.
The charging bull or heifer is multi-facetted in its symbolism, on the one hand it can be likened to a similar motif carried by Caesar's legions on their standards representing the unstoppable power of Rome –it is first and foremost used as a sacrificial animal for Mars Ultor. On the other hand, it can be seen to resemble a famous type from Thurium, a city to which the family of Augustus had a connection: Suetonius relates that Gaius Octavius, Augustus' natural father, defeated a Spartacist army near the town. Due to the high regard in which the family was held in the town, Augustus had been given the surname Thurinus at birth, and thus the type primarily represents a deeply personal allusion to the emperor and his father Gaius Octavius.
While these interpretations might appear divergent, what links them together is that they all proclaim the strength of the Augustan dynasty. This fact is further embellished by the very site where this coin was minted, which itself prospered greatly under Augustan rule, as later described by Strabo: Lugdunum itself, situated on a hill, at the confluence of the Saone and the Rhone, belongs to the Romans. It is the most populous city after Narbonne. It carries on a great commerce, and the Roman prefects here coin both gold and silver money (Strab. 4.3.2).