Sale: CNG 64, Lot: 926. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 24 September 2003.  Sold For $500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AUGUSTUS. 27 BC-14 AD. AR Denarius (3.80 gm). Spanish mint (Colonia Patricia?). Struck circa 18-16 BC. Bare head right / Triumphal arch facing, surmounted with triumphal quadriga; figures standing on either side, one holding legionary aquila, the other a bow. Cf. RIC I 136; cf. BMCRE 427 (aureus); cf. BN 1229; cf. RSC 83. Toned VF, banker's mark on reverse. ($500)

From the Tony Hardy Collection.

The reverse depicts the second triumphal arch awarded to Augustus on the occasion of the recovery of the standards the Parthians had captured from Crassus in 53 BC. Like the earlier arch which had been constructed in 29 BC and which honored his ostensible victory over Cleopatra, this second arch also stood in close proximity to Temple of the Divus Julius at the southern entrance to the Roman Forum and created an indelible reminder of Augustus' fulfilment of pietas.