DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.52605#0023
The emperor Augustus - reign and coin issue
Gaius Octavius was the name of the young Roman in military service be-
fore, as a nineteen-year old, he entered the political arena of the Roman Em-
pire in 44 BC and began an unparalleled career. As the later Imperator Cae-
sar Divi Filius Augustus (born 63 BC, died AD I4)1, he changed the condi-
tions of the then known world to such an extent that the repercussions still
influence our life today. The foundations for the development of Romance
languages in Europe and for modern-day national boundaries were estab-
lished in his time. Jesus was born during the reign of Augustus, and in the
Roman Empire as it was left behind by Augustus, the spread of Christianity
was possible.
The rise of the first Roman emperor was not without effort, coercion and
failures. The probably most humiliating defeat took place exactly 2000 years
ago: in AD 9, his military commander P Quinctilius Varus and three Roman
legions were, entirely unexpectedly, annihilated by some few Germanic war-
riors led by the Cheruscan Arminius11. As a consequence, Varus committed
suicide. When emperor Augustus was told of the lost battle, he is said to have
exclaimed: "Varus, give me back my legions" (Suetonius 23,2). Subsequently,
the greater part of Germania remained for ever free of Roman occupation,
although the Romans later again tried to push forward into Germania. Per-
haps this explains the Roman battlefield of the 3rd century AD which was
found in 2008 in the district of Northeim. However, at this early stage, a schol-
arly analysis of this find from the point of view of Roman ambitions in Ger-
mania is still outstanding.’“ The commemoration of the battle of the Teuto-
burg Forest is the occasion for both the present publication and the special
exhibition on Augustan coinage.
The present catalogue
The Museum August Kestner is in possession of 207 Roman coins issued un-
der Augustus, which are comprehensively published for the first time within
this catalogue. They comprise imperial issues in gold, silver and base metals,
which were centrally minted in Spain, Gaul (Lyons/Lugdunum) and in Rome,
and which circulated in the western part of the Roman Empire. In addition,
silver coins minted in the economically powerful eastern part of the empire
(cistophori) are also catalogued. Where they were minted is still not unequiv-
ocally established for all coins.
On the other hand, bronze issues of single cities, which - with a few ex-
ceptions - only served as currency in a circumscribed area, are not included
in the catalogue. They were not issued by order of the immediate imperial
entourage, but by regional administrations - although of course with permis-
sion from the emperor in Rome.iv
The catalogue contains coins that occur frequently, but also very rare pieces,
such as the two gold coins Kat. 20 and 41. A small part of the Augustan coins in
the Museum August Kestner were already in the possession of its eponymous
21
Gaius Octavius was the name of the young Roman in military service be-
fore, as a nineteen-year old, he entered the political arena of the Roman Em-
pire in 44 BC and began an unparalleled career. As the later Imperator Cae-
sar Divi Filius Augustus (born 63 BC, died AD I4)1, he changed the condi-
tions of the then known world to such an extent that the repercussions still
influence our life today. The foundations for the development of Romance
languages in Europe and for modern-day national boundaries were estab-
lished in his time. Jesus was born during the reign of Augustus, and in the
Roman Empire as it was left behind by Augustus, the spread of Christianity
was possible.
The rise of the first Roman emperor was not without effort, coercion and
failures. The probably most humiliating defeat took place exactly 2000 years
ago: in AD 9, his military commander P Quinctilius Varus and three Roman
legions were, entirely unexpectedly, annihilated by some few Germanic war-
riors led by the Cheruscan Arminius11. As a consequence, Varus committed
suicide. When emperor Augustus was told of the lost battle, he is said to have
exclaimed: "Varus, give me back my legions" (Suetonius 23,2). Subsequently,
the greater part of Germania remained for ever free of Roman occupation,
although the Romans later again tried to push forward into Germania. Per-
haps this explains the Roman battlefield of the 3rd century AD which was
found in 2008 in the district of Northeim. However, at this early stage, a schol-
arly analysis of this find from the point of view of Roman ambitions in Ger-
mania is still outstanding.’“ The commemoration of the battle of the Teuto-
burg Forest is the occasion for both the present publication and the special
exhibition on Augustan coinage.
The present catalogue
The Museum August Kestner is in possession of 207 Roman coins issued un-
der Augustus, which are comprehensively published for the first time within
this catalogue. They comprise imperial issues in gold, silver and base metals,
which were centrally minted in Spain, Gaul (Lyons/Lugdunum) and in Rome,
and which circulated in the western part of the Roman Empire. In addition,
silver coins minted in the economically powerful eastern part of the empire
(cistophori) are also catalogued. Where they were minted is still not unequiv-
ocally established for all coins.
On the other hand, bronze issues of single cities, which - with a few ex-
ceptions - only served as currency in a circumscribed area, are not included
in the catalogue. They were not issued by order of the immediate imperial
entourage, but by regional administrations - although of course with permis-
sion from the emperor in Rome.iv
The catalogue contains coins that occur frequently, but also very rare pieces,
such as the two gold coins Kat. 20 and 41. A small part of the Augustan coins in
the Museum August Kestner were already in the possession of its eponymous
21