Sale: CNG 63, Lot: 1210. Estimate $5000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 21 May 2003.  Sold For $4250. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AUGUSTUS. 27 BC-14 AD. AR Denarius (3.97 gm). Rome mint. M. Durmius, moneyer. Struck 19 BC. Diademed head of Hercules right; club over shoulder / Parthian kneeling right, holding standard. RIC I 314; RSC 433b. Toned, good VF, light porosity. One of only eight known. ($5000)

Augustus' recovery of the lost Roman standards from the Parthians constituted a major diplomatic coup. The Senate awarded him a triumph, and an arch that was erected in the Forum adjacent to the Temple of Julius Caesar. The use of Hercules for the obverse not only links Augustus to Rome's mythic past, but also subtly underscores his ability to accomplish such a "Herculean labor." A unique coin with an important mytho-historic connection.