Lot 182
Caius. Silver Denarius (3.70 g), Caesar, 20 BC-AD 4. Uncertain mint, ca. 17 BC. CA-ES-AR, bare head of Caius right within oak wreath. Reverse: AVGVSTVS, candelabrum ornamented with rams' heads; all within wreath entwined with bucrania and patera. RIC 540; BMC 684; RSC 2. Boldly struck in high relief, excellent metal and attractively toned. Superb Extremely Fine. Value $10,000 - UP
The portrait on this enigmatic issue was originally attributed by Cohen to Caius Caesar, the grandson and, along with his younger brother Lucius, adoptive co-heir of Augustus. Mattingly however, in RIC 1 (1st ed.) identified the portrait as being of Augustus. The youthful features do not resemble those of Rome's first citizen, and the fact that the coin was struck the same year that Augustus elevated his grandsons as his heirs suggests that the portrait indeed represents the elder grandson.
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