AUGUSTUS
27 BC - AD 14 
AR Denarius. 3.23g, 20.1 x 17.2mm
MINTED: Eastern (Pergamum?) mint, circa 27-20 BC
REF: RIC I 475; RSC 28
OBVERSE: [CAESA]R, bare head right.
REVERSE: AVGVSTVS, bull standing right.
 
Notes:
Lovely old collection toning with some blue iridescence on obverse.  An attractive specimen with a portrait in excellent style.  Struck on an oval flan with some light marks and faint scratches.     
While the symbolism behind the distinctive bull portrayed on this Eastern mint issue is far from certain, the bull in Roman tradition held not only strong religious symbolism, but was also the badge of all the legions formed under Julius Caesar.  These denariii would as such have emphasized, particularly to veterans who might have received them as part of their salary, Augustus's position as the inheritor of Caesar's great legacy. 
 
Historical Notes:
Augustus, known earlier in his life as Octavian, was the founder of the Roman Empire.  He was 19 years old when he was named the heir of Julius Caesar, his grand uncle, when the latter was assassinated in March 44 BC by a group of senators. The inexperienced youth had to walk a perilous path during that tumultuous period, but with the loyalty of Caesar's veteran soldiers, he and his ally Mark Antony were able to inflict total political and military defeat upon Caesar's assassins. In the ten years that followed their victory, Octavian consolidated his power base in Rome and surrounded himself with able generals and faithful followers, while Antony was left to rule the Roman provinces in the east.

Full scale civil war erupted between the former allies in 31 BC, and Octavian had the Roman Senate denounce Antony as a traitor and declare war on him and his lover, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at the naval battle in 31 BC, and fleeing back to Egypt, they both committed suicide, leaving Octavian the sole ruler of the Roman world.

As Princeps Civitatis, or First Citizen of the State, Augustus, as he now called himself, carefully maintained the illusion of the old Republic, though he was in fact emperor in all but name. He spent the next decades overhauling the Roman bureaucracy, military, and economy, constructing public roads and buildings on an unprecedented scale. He expanded the borders and sphere of influence of his new Empire while establishing a long-lasting peace within. At the end of his life, he is said to have proclaimed, "I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble". He died in AD 14, at the age of 75, having ruled for 40 years.