Lot 2012
Augustus. Silver Denarius (3.85 g), 27 BC-AD 14. Tarraco(?), ca. 18 BC. CAESAR AVGVSTVS, laureate head of Augustus right. Reverse: DIVVS IVLIVS, comet with eight rays and tail. RIC 102 (Colonia Patricia?); BN p. 196 *, pl. LIV, c; BMC 357; RSC 98. Choice Very Fine. Estimate Value $1,500 - 2,000
From The Herbert & Aphrodite Rubin Collection; Ex Birkler & Waddell II (11 December 1980), 288.
The reverse type features the Sidus Iulium ("Julian Star"), a comet (C/-43 K1) that became visible four months after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. It was claimed by Octavian that the comet was Caesar's soul ascending the heavens and proved that the murdered dictator had in fact become a god. Octavian subsequently styled himself as the "(adopted) son of the god" and used his relation to divinity as a propaganda tool in his conflicts with Caesar's killers and with Mark Antony. This particular coin was struck after the end of the Civil Wars and after Octavian had become Augustus. The reverse therefore must refer to the Temple of the Divus Iulius dedicated by Octavian in 28 BC, which included a colossal statue of Caesar surmounted by a representation of the comet.
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| Realized $1,939 |
