223, Lot: 401. Estimate $300. Sold for $190. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Fourrée Denarius (20mm, 3.47 g, 7h). Pergamum mint. Struck 19 BC. Bare head right / ARMENIA above, CAPTA below, tiara on left, quiver and bowcase on right. Cf. RIC I 516; cf. RSC 11. Fine, cleaning scrapes, porous.

The eastern part of the Roman empire had long proved a difficult region to control. In 53 BC, Crassus was killed at Carrhae and Rome had lost its legionary standards. The limits of Roman might were severely tested. Keeping Armenia free from Parthian domination was of great importance to Augustus. When the Armenians asked for Rome’s help in ridding them of Artaxes in favor of Tigranes, Augustus sent Tiberius to deal with the matter. In the event, the Armenians themselves removed Artaxes, Tiberius arriving late to be of little aid. However, the Romans, always ready to use propaganda to their advantage, treated this “victory” as a monumental diplomatic triumph. Tiberius “put on a lordly air, especially after sacrifices had been offered up to commemorate the event, as though he had accomplished something by martial prowess.” (Dio, liv. 9).