Octavian’s Sphinx
Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AR Cistophorus (30mm, 12.07 g, 12h). Pergamum mint. Struck 27-26 BC. IMP • CAESAR, bare head right / AVGVSTVS above, sphinx seated right. RIC I 492; Sutherland Group IV (O9/R- [unlisted rev. die]); RPC I 2210; RSC 31bis; BMCRE 701 var. (lituus on obv.). Good VF, gray and gold toning, traces of deposits. Very rare.
This coin is one of the earliest to show Octavian's new title and the new name by which he would become known. After his death, all future emperors would take this title as a sovereign right. The cistophorus was a coin made to circulate in the Roman province of Asia. Its large size, as well as the name, was inherited from a Greek coin which circulated earlier in the region. Its weight, however, was equivalent to three denarii. The sphinx on the reverse was well known as the device on Augustus' signet ring.
