Denarius - Augustus S P Q R CL V

This issue belongs to the post-Actium monetary reorganization, when Augustus was systematically recasting Roman coinage as an instrument of political settlement rather than mere exchange. The SPQR CL V type is directly tied to the return of the standards captured by the Parthians at Carrhae in 53 BC — a humiliation that had festered for three decades under Caesar, Antony, and Augustus himself before a diplomatic solution was extracted from Phraates IV around 20 BC. Augustus exploited the recovery relentlessly in official iconography and coinage.

RIC I 42B is distinguished from the closely related 42A by its reverse type specifics, making die attribution essential for precise cataloging.