Rare denarius minted for Octavian Augustus in one of the eastern mints, probably in Samos (according to Sutherland and Carson) or in Syria, possibly in Berytos (according to Banti and Simonetti) around 21-20 BC.
Roman Empire
Octavian Augustus (27 BC-14 AD), Denarius 21-20 BC, unknown mint
Obverse: head of Octavian August right
CAESAR
Reverse: bull standing right
AVGVSTVS
Weight 4 g
The offered denarius was minted in the East of the Roman Empire, but it is difficult to assign it to one specific mint, except for the island of Samos, referred to by the authors of the first volume of RIC and Berytos, suggested (although with a question mark) by the Italian authors of the most extensive catalog of Augustus coins, Pegamon also appears in the literature (mainly due to the stylistic similarity to the cystophores of the time). The symbolism of the bull is also ambiguous for us - the most likely thesis of Grant is that we are dealing here with the victories of Agrippa (Augustus' son-in-law and the most trusted commander) over the Bosporus, whose symbol was the bull Chrysomallos.
