Augustus. 27 BC-AD 14. AR Denarius (19mm, 3.83 g, 12h). Rome mint; P. Petronius Turpilianus, moneyer. Struck 19 BC. CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head right / TV RPILIΛNVS III VIR, Tarpeia standing facing, raising both hands, buried to her waist under ten shields; broken spear below. RIC I 299; RSC 494; BMCRE 29-31 = BMCRR Rome 4529-31; BN 157-160. Attractive iridescent tone, shallow cleaning scratches under tone, traces of deposits, minor flan flaw on obverse. EF. Well struck. Fabulous portrait of Augustus.

From the Jonathan P. Rosen Collection. Ex Roma XIV (21 September 2017), lot 662.

In the story of the abduction of the Sabine women, Tarpeia was a Vestal Virgin who betrayed the city of Rome to the Sabines when they were attempting to rescue their wives and daughters. Her price for betraying Rome was what the Sabine soldiers wore on their left arms, meaning their gold bracelets, but the Sabines were so offended by Tarpeia's reprehensible greed and treason that they took her request literally. She met her death under the crushing weight of the soldiers’ shields.