7 Coins, 7 Reverse Types, 3 Mints, 1 Hoard, 1 Emperor

[Nikodeimos]

All seven coins are, of course, denarii of Augustus, struck in three different mints - Rome, Lugdunum and Colonia Patricia (Cordoba)(presumably). The reverses show various aspects of Augustus' legitimization strategy. Some stress his military accomplishments, such as the 'SIGNIS RECEPTIS' type, which refers to the retrieval of the legionary standards lost to the Parthians by Crassus, or the one with the Actian Apollo, which of course celebrates the victory over Antony and Cleopatra. Others stress the auspiciousness of his rule, such as the Capricorn, which was his conception sign and moon sign at birth. Others still reflect dynastic 'propaganda', such as the lovely denarius showing Caius Caesar, Augustus' successor, on horseback.

While a nice set in and of themselves, what truly sets them apart is their provenance. These coins all come from a hoard found in 1879 in the vicinity of Santo Estêvão, a village close to Chaves, Portugal, on the banks of the local river. The hoard consisted of hundreds of coins (all Republican and early imperial denarii, up to the reign of Claudius), of which a certain General Antonio Sarmento acquired a good bunch, which he later published with line drawings in the relatively obscure Portuguese journal 'O Universo Illustrado' in 1880 and 1883. About the general I received the following information:

General António Luís Gomes de Moraes Sarmento (1851-1929)

General Moraes Sarmento was the oldest of 11 brothers. He was born on April 11, 1851, in Vila Verde da Raia (Chaves, Vila Real) and died on April 21, 1929, in Vila Real, single, having been buried in the cemetery of his birthplace. He became a soldier on August 25, 1869, in the 13th Infantry Regiment, took the Infantry Weapons course and the Military Engineering course at the Army School, and was awarded an award. General and Engineer, he spent a long time in the Public Works Engineering Corps, having been Director of Public Works in Vila Real. He was a Deputy to the Courts (1888) and was Commander of the Royal Order of S. Bento de Aviz (1906). He designed the railway line from Régua to Vila Real, and King Carlos classified it as the most notable railway in the country. He was the engineer responsible for building the railway line that connected Régua to Chaves. He collaborated in several newspapers and magazines, covering diverse topics such as Numismatics, Philosophy and Mathematics and was the inventor of tables that facilitated calculations in railway engineering.

All these denarii can be matched to the line drawings in his publications of 1880 and 1883. In them, he mentions how the locals started tearing down some nearby ruins in the hopes of finding more coins! We can only guess under what circumstances the hoard was originally buried - it was a sizeable sum of money and its location so close to a river is very interesting. While these are common issues, it cannot be stressed enough that it's very rare for such coins to have a verifiable 19th century provenance, so I'm very happy to have them.

(Three of my coins in the 1880 publication)

Preliminary happy New Year everyone!

Edited December 30, 2024 by Nikodeimos

[Curtisimo]

Absolutely fantastic! I’d love to have a secure provenance to a line drawing from the 19th century someday. The center coin is my favorite.

[Sulla80]

Amazing provenance and beautiful coins! Hard to pick a favorite - these are especially nice as a group.  I'll pick the Actian Apollo - Congratulations & best wishes for 2025!

[David Atherton]

I love this sort of thing. Thank you for sharing these amazing coins here!