Collection History: Donated by R.S. Shankland in 1940
Tarraco mint.
The Spanish mints during Augustus’s reign have been the subject of some controversy, over both existence, time periods of production, and location/s. However, it would not be strange for mints to exist in Spain, since from BCE 20-17, when they are suggested to have operated, there were multiple legions in Spain which would require payment. (Sutherland, RIC I.26) The denarii from Spanish mints tended to be lighter than those from Rome (with 3.85 as a peak weight, as opposed to 4.00) and tended to have 6 o’clock die axes. The reverse, with DIVUS – IULIUS nestled into an eight-point comet, refers to the apotheosis of Julius Caesar and more specifically to the Sidus Iulium, the star of Julus, a comet which supposedly appeared over Rome in the September after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. Gena Goodman 2013.