Pre-Long Beach Auction #80

Augustus. Silver Denarius (3.74 g), 27 BC-AD 14. Emerita, ca. 25-23 BC. P. Carisius, propraetorian legate. IMP CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head of Augustus right. Reverse P CARISIVS LEG PRO PR, facing Celtiberian helmet between dagger and bipennis. RIC 8; BMC 280; RSC 406a. Very Rare. Boldly struck on a wide flan with a finely executed portrait of Augustus. Lustrous surfaces. Nearly Mint State.

The Roman conquest of the Iberian Peninsula took two centuries, from the first landing at Emporion in 218 BC during the Second Punic War until the final conquest of the remaining holdouts in northwestern Spain under Augustus in 19 BC. The reverse of this coin shows the common armament of the Celtiberian warrior, who were extremely skilled in light arms, especially the short sword or dagger and the bipennis, a sort of small double-headed axe.
Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000.
Ex NAC 59 (4-5 April 2011), 875.