AUGUSTUS (27 BC-14 AD). Denarius. Uncertain Spanish mint, possibly Colonia Patricia.

Obv: CAESAR AVGVSTVS.
Head right, wearing oak wreath.
Rev: DIVVS - IVLIVS.
Comet, with eight rays and tail.

RIC² 102.

In 44 BC, a year of institutional political upheaval, the sighting of a comet, an exceptional astronomical event, was seen as a divine sign related to Caesaricide and appeared on some rare Republican and Augustan denarii. Virgil writes in the Eclogues that Caesar's star represented an extraordinary moment of light at a time of deep sadness for the Romans. Caesar's death shocked Rome but did not stop the crisis of the Republic, Marc'Antony and Octavian contended for power, and when Octavian prevailed, the long imperial history began.

Condition: Good very fine.

Weight: 3.28 g.
Diameter: 21 mm.