187, Lot: 216. Estimate $500. Sold for $851. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Octavian. 28 BC. AR Cistophorus (27mm, 11.76 g, 1h). Ephesus mint. Laureate head right / Pax standing left, holding caduceus; behind her, serpent emerging from cista mystica; all within laurel wreath. RIC I 476; Sutherland Group I, - (O17/R-); CRI 433; RPC 2203; RSC 218. VF, toned.

This was the first cistophorus minted in Asia in more than a decade and marked the beginning of a huge output of cistophori during the subsequent decade. Here, for the first time, Octavian is depicted as laureate, an obvious reference to Apollo. The obverse legend reads “Champion of the Liberty of the Roman People” and the figure of Pax on the reverse alludes to the peace resulting from Octavian’s triumphs.

The emphasis on Apollo is also marked by two changes in design from previous cistophori. The cista mystica - a common symbol in the cult of Dionysus that was prominently featured on the obverse of previous cistophori - is significantly reduced, and the reverse is no longer encircled by the Dionysiac garland of ivy, but by Apollo’s laurel wreath.