Roma Numismatics Ltd
E-Sale 80 4 Feb 2021
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Augustus and Agrippa Æ As of Nemausus, Gaul. Circa AD 10-14. Heads of Agrippa and Augustus back to back, Agrippa wearing rostral crown and laurel wreath, facing to left, Augustus laureate, facing to right; IMP above, DIVI F below, P-P across lower fields / Chained crocodile to right, palm frond upwards in centre, wreath to left of palm tip with long ties trailing to right; COL-NEM across fields. RPC I 525; RIC I 159; SNG Copenhagen 700-1. 10.49g, 25mm, 5h.
Very Fine.
Auctioned in association with and on behalf of Numismática Lucernae, Jaén.
This artistically fascinating and typologically unique type refers directly to the victory of Octavian (as was) and Agrippa at Actium over the forces of Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony, and to the settlement of veterans in Nemausus. The crocodile, collared around the neck and chained to a palm on the reverse of this coin is a clear reference to the subjugation of Egypt, thus obliquely referring also to Antony and Cleopatra; the wreath above with ties fluttering in the breeze is a reminder that the war was both just and necessary, with the victory having brought about the deliverance and salvation of the Roman people and the state. It is noteworthy also that the portraits of Agrippa and Augustus on the obverse are presented on the same level and back to back, at once recalling the ancient Janiform types once so prevalent on the Roman coinage, and also presenting princeps and general as inseparable and heroic partners - the one adorned with a wreath of laurel, the other with a rostral wreath in recognition for his naval victories.
Very Fine.
Auctioned in association with and on behalf of Numismática Lucernae, Jaén.
This artistically fascinating and typologically unique type refers directly to the victory of Octavian (as was) and Agrippa at Actium over the forces of Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony, and to the settlement of veterans in Nemausus. The crocodile, collared around the neck and chained to a palm on the reverse of this coin is a clear reference to the subjugation of Egypt, thus obliquely referring also to Antony and Cleopatra; the wreath above with ties fluttering in the breeze is a reminder that the war was both just and necessary, with the victory having brought about the deliverance and salvation of the Roman people and the state. It is noteworthy also that the portraits of Agrippa and Augustus on the obverse are presented on the same level and back to back, at once recalling the ancient Janiform types once so prevalent on the Roman coinage, and also presenting princeps and general as inseparable and heroic partners - the one adorned with a wreath of laurel, the other with a rostral wreath in recognition for his naval victories.