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Important Numismatics collection from a Noble Italian family

Thursday 12 March 2026 e Friday 13 March 2026, 02:30 PM • Milan

16

Monete dell'Impero Romano (shipping only in Italy)

AUGUSTUS (27 BC - 14 AD) – Denarius, Lugdunum (Lyon).

Starting bid

€ 200

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€ 200

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At auction on Thursday 12 March 2026 at 14:30

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Information

in silver
3.81 gr. - Diam. 19.00 mm.
Obverse: Bare head right; - Reverse: Bull charging right, head down. In exergue IMP. X.
RIC 166a.
Nice specimen.
Nice BB.

Shipping only in Italy.

The numerous issues of Augustus's so-called "bull coins" minted at the Gallic mint of Lugdunum, date to a period of strong affirmation and consolidation of the new regime. The choice of the bull is not accidental: it is a visual reference to the city of Thurium, in Lucania, with which Octavian's family boasted significant ties.
In 60 BC, while serving as praetor, Octavian's father, Gaius Octavius, successfully led Roman troops against a slave revolt that had broken out near the city. It is likely that, to celebrate this victory, he bestowed upon his son, then just three years old, the cognomen Thurinus, an explicit reference to the city.
The premature death of Gaius Octavius the following year led the young Octavian to quickly abandon this cognomen. However, once in power, Augustus revived that family memory in a more subtle and symbolic way, incorporating the charging bull into his public image: the same iconographic type used by Thurius on his Greek coinage of previous centuries. In this way, an episode of personal and family history was transformed into an element of imperial propaganda.

Condition report

To request a Condition Report, please contact numismatica@finarte.it The department will provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Please note that what Finarte declares with respect to the state of conservation of the objects corresponds only to a qualified opinion and that we are not professional conservators or restorers. We urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. We always suggest prospective buyers to inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition during the exhibition days as indicated in the catalog.

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