Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Denarius - Augustus SIGNIS RECEPTIS CL V S P Q R
| Issuer | Roman Empire (27 BC - 395 AD) |
|---|---|
| Year | 19 BC - 15 BC |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | CAESAR AVGVSTVS (Translation: Caesar Augustus.) |
| Reverse description | A circular clipeus virtutis (votive shield) occupies the central field, inscribed CL V (clupeus votivus), flanked on the left by a legionary aquila (eagle standard) and on the right by a military signum (field standard). The letters S P Q R appear in the four quadrants surrounding the shield, referencing the authority of the Senate and Roman People. This celebrated type commemorates the diplomatic recovery of the Roman standards lost to the Parthians at Carrhae in 53 BC, a major propaganda achievement of Augustus presented as a triumph without warfare. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The SIGNIS RECEPTIS issue commemorates one of Augustus's most carefully managed diplomatic victories: the return of the legionary standards lost by Crassus at Carrhae in 53 BC and by Antony in subsequent Parthian campaigns. The Parthian king Phraates IV handed them over in 20 BC without a battle — a negotiated settlement that Augustus's propaganda machine transformed into a triumph equal to military conquest. The Senate awarded him a triumphal arch and the right to an ovation he declined, preferring the image of magnanimous restraint.
RIC I 86A is among the Spanish mint issues of this type, struck most likely at Colonia Caesaraugusta or Emerita, distinguishable from the Rome series by subtle die characteristics catalogued by Sutherland.