Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 106 16 Feb 2023
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Octavian AR Denarius. Italian mint (Rome?), autumn 30 - summer 29 BC. Laureate head to right / Rostral column ornamented with two anchors and six beaks of galleys, surmounted by a statue of Octavian, naked but for cloak over left shoulder, holding spear and parazonium; IMP - CAESA[R] across fields. RIC I 271 (Augustus); CRI 423; BMCRE 633 (Augustus); BMCRR Rome 4349; RSC 124 (Augustus). 3.22g, 20mm, 11h.
Near Extremely Fine; beautiful old cabinet tone.
This coin has an unusually complete rostral column topped with an elegant statue of Octavian. Traditionally built to commemorate Naval victories and decorated with the rostra of captured galleys, rostral columns of the modern world include the Columbus Memorial at Columbus Circle in New York City, which depicts his three ships the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María as Roman galleys, and the paired St. Petersburg examples built on the formal approach to the Old Stock Exchange building. These imposing columns feature personifications of the four major rivers of Russia (the Volga and Dnieper at the northern column, the Neva and Volkhov at the southern one), while the Exchange building itself is topped by a sculptural group centred on Neptune and symbolising maritime commerce.
Near Extremely Fine; beautiful old cabinet tone.
This coin has an unusually complete rostral column topped with an elegant statue of Octavian. Traditionally built to commemorate Naval victories and decorated with the rostra of captured galleys, rostral columns of the modern world include the Columbus Memorial at Columbus Circle in New York City, which depicts his three ships the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María as Roman galleys, and the paired St. Petersburg examples built on the formal approach to the Old Stock Exchange building. These imposing columns feature personifications of the four major rivers of Russia (the Volga and Dnieper at the northern column, the Neva and Volkhov at the southern one), while the Exchange building itself is topped by a sculptural group centred on Neptune and symbolising maritime commerce.