119, Lot: 154. Estimate $500. Sold for $410. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

OCTAVIAN. 36 BC. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.92 g). Italian mint. Bare head right, with beard / Statue of Divus Julius Caesar holding a lituus within a tetrastyle temple; star on pediment, flaming altar left. Crawford 540/2; CRI 315; Sydenham 1338; RSC 90. VF, toned. 

From the Tony Hardy Collection.

This denarius clearly reflects Octavian's manipulation of the symbolism in his coinage to convey a particular political message. The obverse shows him with a beard, the typical attitude of mourning, worn in this instance for the death of Caesar, his assassinated patron. The reverse depicts the as-yet-to-be-built Temple of Divus Julius, located at the southern entrance of the Roman Forum, which would be dedicated on 18 August 29 BC. Although construction of a temple on the site of Caesar's cremation did not begin until after Actium, Octavian still depicted it on this earlier coins to emphasize his connection to the now "divine" Caesar, as well as his more traditional fulfilment of pietas.