Lot 23
Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) AR Denarius, Spanish mint, c. 20-19 BC, 3.85g.
Auction: 23 November 2026, 10:30 GMT
Description
Laureate head of Augustus right. Rev. CAESAR / AVGVSTVS, two laurel trees. (RIC 51; BMC 352; RSC 47). Good Extremely Fine.
When Octavian was awarded the honorary title of Augustus in 27 BC investing him with supreme power, he was also given the right to decorate his door posts with laurel branches, a sign of martial victory, and the corona civica, an oak-wreath symbolising the saving of a Roman life. In the case of Augustus, the laurel branches signified his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at Actium, and the corona civica was awarded for saving the life of not one citizen but of many thousands when he successfully ended the civil wars. On this coin Augustus is portrayed wearing the oak wreath crown - something that occurs only occasionally on Roman coins - which by law he was required to do at every public gathering.
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