A denarius of Augustus showing Gaius Caesar

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Coin from the Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney, NM2004.2536. Scanned by Madeline Robinson.

A silver denarius struck in 9 BC at the mint of Lugdunum (Lyon).

Gaius Caesar

1. Gaius Caesar The reverse or ‘tails’ side of this coin shows Gaius Caesar on horseback with military standards to the left behind him. We think the image refers to Gaius’ participation in military exercises with the legions, mentioned by the historian Cassius Dio (55.6.4). Dio tells us Augustus gave the soldiers a donative of money at this time - might this design have been included among the coins given?

2. Son of Augustus Gaius Caesar and his brother Lucius Caesar were adopted as Augustus’ sons and heirs in 17 BC. The legend, C CAES AVGVS F, names Gaius Caesar and labels him the son of Augustus.

3. Wear You will notice the coin is quite worn. This tells us something about the coin’s life after it was created: it may have circulated from hand to hand for many years and/or been deposited in a location that contributed to the wear.

Augustus

4. Obverse The ‘heads’ side of a coin is called an obverse by scholars. On this obverse is a portrait of Augustus wearing a laurel wreath.

5. Legend The legend on this side of the coin reads AVGVSTVS DIVI F, meaning ‘Augustus, son of the god’. The god mentioned is the deified Julius Caesar.

6. Lugdunum This coin and many others were struck at a mint in Lugdunum (modern day Lyon in France). One suggestion for the continued use of this location as a mint is that it was close to the troops, so coins made here did not have to travel as far when used to pay the soldiers.

Reference

The scholarly reference for this coin is RIC I (second edition) Augustus 199.