Coinage Struck in Spain, 20-18 BC

Sale: CNG 78, Lot: 1643. Estimate $1000.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 14 May 2008.  Sold For $2000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AR Denarius (3.69 g, 6h). Spanish mint - Emerita. Struck 19-18 BC. Head right, wearing oak wreath / Comet with eight rays and tail. RIC I 37a; RSC 98. Good VF, toned, faint hairlines beneath tone.

This denarius reflects Augustus’ use of his coinage to convey a political message. The obverse shows him wearing the corona civica, an oak wreath awarded to an individual who had personally saved a citizen (in Augustus' case it was the citizen body of the Roman world). The reverse depicts the comet which made a continuous daylight appearance during July 44 BC, and was associated with the deification of Julius Caesar.