709. The Triumvirs. Octavian. Autumn 31-summer 30 BC. AR Denarius (23.5mm, 3.85 g, 4h). Italian (Rome?) mint. Bare head of Octavian left / Victory standing left on globe, holding wreath and palm frond. CRI 407; RIC I 254b; RSC 64. Lightly toned, reverse slightly double struck. Good VF. Struck on a very broad flan. ($1000) From the John L. Cowan Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 84 (5 May 2010), lot 957. Following his victory at Actium, Octavian ordered a golden statue of Victory, standing on a globe and holding a wreath and palm frond, to be set up on an altar in the Curia in Rome. This statue had been captured by the Romans from Pyrrhus in 272 BC, and it assumed a somewhat tutelary mystique, protecting the Roman state from dissolution. In AD 382, the emperor Gratian ordered its removal. Two years later, the senator and orator Symmachus urged Valentinian II to replace it, a request that was met with stiff opposition from the bishop of Milan, Ambrose. Though it was briefly returned to its place by the usurper Eugenius, it was again removed following his defeat. Petitions to Theodosius I for its subsequent replacement were refused, on the grounds that the once-important symbol of the gods’ blessing on the Roman Empire was now nothing more than a piece of paganism.
710. The Triumvirs. Octavian. Autumn 31-summer 30 BC. AR Denarius (21mm, 3.89 g, 1h). Italian (Rome?) mint. Bare head left / Victory standing right on globe, holding palm frond and wreath. CRI 408; RIC I 255; RSC 66. Lightly toned, some light marks and scratches. Good VF. Struck on a broad flan. ($1500) From the collection of Professor David R. Beatty, C.M., O.B.E. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica 29 (11 May 2005), lot 430.
711. The Triumvirs. Octavian. Autumn 30-summer 29 BC. AR Denarius (21mm, 3.99 g, 9h). Italian (Rome?) mint. Bare head right / Naval and military trophy facing, composed of helmet, cuirass, shield, and crossed spears, set on prow of galley right; crossed rudder and anchor at base. CRI 419; RIC I 265a (Augustus); RSC 119 (Augustus). Toned with a hint of iridescence, a few light marks and scratches. Good VF. ($1500) From the Benito Collection. Ex Leu 65 (21 May 1996), lot 318.
The Iconic ‘Aegypto Capta’ Denarius
712. The Triumvirs. Octavian. 28 BC. AR Denarius (18.5mm, 3.81 g, 8h). Uncertain mint, perhaps in Cyrenaica(?). Bare head right; lituus behind; CAeÍA[r] to left, COÍ • ui to right / Crocodile standing right with jaws open; AegupTO above, CApTA below. CRI 430; RIC I 275a; RSC 2; BMCRR East 243-4; RBW –. Deeply toned, a few scratches and marks, area of weak strike and banker’s mark on obverse. VF. ($2000) From the John L. Cowan Collection. Ex Berk BBS 199 (29 September 2016), lot 166; Tony Hardy Collection (Classical Numismatic Group 64, 24 September 2003), lot 910.
End of Session 2 179