The unique Type 2 Augustus Caesar heifer-reverse aureus which is expected to fetch £300,000 to £350,000 A unique version of a rare gold coin minted during the reign of Augustus Caesar, the first and greatest of Rome's emperors, is expected to sell for £300,000 to £350,000 ($508,000 to $593,000) at the auction of Ancient and World Coins to be held by DixNoonan Webb, the international coins and medals specialists, in London on 22 September 2014.

The gold aureus, which was struck c27-18BC, depicts the new portrait of Augustus transformed into an ageless Apollo-like classical beauty on one side and an image of a heifer based on a long-lost masterpiece by a Greek sculptor on its reverse. The coin is a piece of numismatic genius celebrating the power of the man who founded the Roman Empire and laid the foundations of a regime that lasted for centuries.

Only 22 examples of the heifer-reverse aureus minted during the reign of Augustus are known to have survived of which 15 are in museums, leaving just seven potentially available to buyers. They are sub-divided into five types which vary according to whether Augustus is depicted with a bare head or a laureate head and which way the emperor and the heifer are facing. The aureus to be auctioned at Dix Noonan Webb is the unique Type 2 coin with the laureate head of Augustus facing right and the heifer looking to the left. Its condition is described as "extremely fine with lustre".

"This is a truly extraordinary coin," says Christopher Webb, head of the coinsdepartment at Dix Noonan Webb. "Not only is it a unique type of an already very rare coin but its condition after more than 2,000 years is extremely fine and visually it is a beautiful work of art. It also represents an epic period when Augustus built an empire that changed the course of human history."

The exact date of the coin and where it was minted remain unknown and the subject of much scholarly debate but it is believed to have been struck c27-18BC. In 27BC Octavian, as he was then called, the great nephew of Julius Caesar, founded the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. He took the name of Augustus, meaning 'stately' or 'dignified' and began to stamp his authority on Rome and its territories.

Dix Noonan Webb
16 Bolton Street,
London W1J 8BQ
Telephone: 020 7016 1700.
E-mail: auctions@dnw.co.uk