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Keystone Auction 4

Lot nuber 133

Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Æ As (24mm, 11.07 g, 5h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck circa 10-7 BC.


Keystone Auction 4
Lot: 133.
 Estimated: $ 20

Roman Imperial, Bronze

Sold For $ 600. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Go to Live

Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. Æ As (24mm, 11.07 g, 5h). Lugdunum (Lyon) mint. Struck circa 10-7 BC. Laureate head right; behind head / Front elevation of the Altar of Lugdunum, decorated with the corona civica between laurels, flanked by stylized male figures; to left and right, Victories on columns, facing one another; VAR monogram within incuse square. RIC I 230; for c/m: cf. Grünwald p. 130, type X, 69-70. Dark brown surfaces. In NGC encapsulation 5872729-030, graded VF, Strike: 4/5, Surface 2/5, countermark.

From the Robert W. Bartlett Bequest Sold for the Benefit of the American Numismatic Society.

Publius Quinctilius Varus was one of the most celebrated of Augustus’ generals. He had been consul in 13 BC (along with the future emperor Tiberius), governor of Syria, where he had sent two legions into Judaea to quell local unrest after the territory was converted to a Roman province, and subsequently governor of Germania. By AD 9, Augustus had decided to straighten (and thereby shorten) Rome’s borders by conquering the vast region of Germania beyond the Rhine. He assigned Varus to develop the region without war, but the mixed Gauls and Germans living there were not prepared to accept Romanization. The Cherusci, under their king Arminius, along with other allies, ambushed Varus in the Teutoburg Forest of northwest Germany, and there annihilated the XVII, XVIII and XIX Roman legions in a pitched battle that lasted for three days. Varus, sensing doom, committed suicide, and when Augustus heard of the disaster, it is said that he tore his clothes and screamed, “Varus, give me back my legions.” No further attempts were made to subdue the Germans beyond the Rhine until the reign of Domitian, and Varus was blamed for the collapse of imperial policy in Germany. The reverse of this coin features the celebrated Altar of Lugdunum, which had been dedicated by Augustus on 1 August 10 BC. With the exception of one coin, all known examples of Varus’ countermark appear on this coin type, and only on the earliest issues within the type.

Closing Date and Time: Thursday, 2 September 2021 at 10:44:00 ET.

All winning bids are subject to an 18% buyer’s fee.