Roman Empire Augustus, 27 BC-14 CE. Aureus circa 27 BC-15 CE, Pergamon (?). CAESAR Bare head right / AVGVSTVS Heifer walking left. 7,57g. Bahrfeldt 137; Calicó 168 (same obverse die); CBN 1010; Cohen 26; RIC 538. Small marks in the field. Good very fine. Provenance: Purchased from A. Riechmann, Halle, circa 1925. Numismatik Lanz 135 (21 May 2007), 474. Numismatists and collectors have always been fascinated by this exceptional type, whose beauty is unmatched in Augustus' coinage and evokes the masterpieces of the Hellenistic era. Moreover, the reverse reflects Augustus' passion for Greek culture. After his victory at Actium in 31 BC, Augustus requisitioned from Athens four statues of heifer created by the sculptor Myron of Eleutherae in the 5th century BC to decorate the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill. Augustus dedicated the temple in 28 BC, which suggests that this coin likely depicts one of Myron's heifers. This coin therefore represents a major work by one of the most celebrated artists of ancient Greece. All the more so because the heifer reappeared in imperial coinage under Vespasian, when he relocated Myron's heifers to adorn his new Temple of Peace, where they remained for at least three centuries. Furthermore, the heifer symbolized the emperor's moral and physical strength, as well as his deep piety. Circulating coins that associated the emperor with these virtues was an effective strategy within Augustus' broader program of moral reform and return to traditional Roman values. This aureus was thus both a tribute to Greek art and a tool of propaganda serving Augustus' ambitions as he undertook his moral renewal of Roman society.