C. Vibius Varus, 42 BC. Aureus (Gold, 20 mm, 8.02 g, 8 h), Rome. Laureate head of Apollo to right. Rev. C•VIBIVS / VARVS Venus, half nude and seen from behind, standing left beside a column, looking at herself in a mirror. Calicó 33. Crawford 494/34. CRI 190. RBW 1738. Sydenham 1137. Struck on a broad flan, with a perfectly centered, medallic obverse. The reverse struck somewhat off center and with minor traces of mounting on the edge, otherwise, very fine.

This beautiful aureus of Vibius Varus references both Apollo and Venus, linking them to the Julian family and, by extension, to the murdered Caesar. It was minted during the wars between Octavian and Mark Antony against the Caesar murderers Brutus and Cassius. The depiction of the nearly nude Venus, playfully turning away from the viewer and gazing at herself in the mirror, follows the tradition of the Venus pudica, originally inspired by the famous Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, and later adapted in the Venus of Arles.