The Actian Arch

Sale: Triton XI, Lot: 654. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 7 January 2008.  Sold For $6500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Octavian. 30-29 BC. AR Denarius (3.79 g, 6h). Italian (Rome?) mint. Bare head right / IMP CAESAR on the architrave of Octavian’s Actian arch (arcus Octaviani), showing a single span surmounted by Octavian in facing triumphal quadriga. RIC I 267; CRI 422; RSC 123; BMCRE 624 = BMCRR Rome 4348; BN 66. Choice EF, lightly toned.

This is the Actian Arch, a modest structure consisting of a single arcade and surmounted by Octavian in a triumphal quadriga. Decreed by the Senate, it was constructed in the Forum, although its actual location and eventual fate remain uncertain.