Denarius - Augustus S P Q R CL V, Victory facing

This issue belongs to a group struck at a traveling mint — likely Colonia Patricia in Spain — accompanying Augustus during his western campaigns of 19–16 BC. The reverse type referencing the recovery of the standards lost by Crassus at Carrhae in 53 BC was among the most politically charged imagery Augustus deployed: the return of those eagles in 20 BC, negotiated rather than won militarily, was presented to Rome as a battlefield triumph. The mint worked overtime producing types that hammered this message home.