Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXV 22-23 Sep 2022
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Augustus, with Agrippa, AR Denarius. Rome, 13 BC. C. Sulpicius Platorinus, moneyer. CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head of Augustus to right / M AGRIPPA PLATORINVS III VIR, bare head of Agrippa to right. RIC I 408; BMCRE 112-4; RSC 3 (Agrippa and Augustus). 3.97g, 18mm, 8h.
Good Extremely Fine; banker's mark to obv, beautiful old cabinet tone with two bold, distinctive portraits. Rare and arguably the finest known example.
From the Vogelberg Collection (Switzerland), formed c. 1960-1985;
Ex Münzen & Medaillen AG Basel, FPL 100, February 1951, no. 47;
Ex Henry Platt Hall Collection, Glendining & Co., 19 July 1950, lot 873;
Ex Dr. Bonazzi Collection, Rodolfo Ratto, Auction 1, 23 January 1924, lot 1548;
Ex M. P. Vautier & Prof. M. Collignon Collection, Naville & Cie., Auction II, 12 June 1922, lot 198.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus met in boyhood, but their relationship was cemented after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, when Agrippa was elected tribune of the plebs and served alongside Octavian and Mark Antony as a military commander at the Battle of Philippi. During the subsequent years, he swiftly rose through the political system as Urban Prefect, Governor of Transalpine Gaul, Consul and Curule Aedile and commanded Octavian's fleet at the decisive Battle of Actium in 31 BC, after which Octavian became sole ruler of the Roman empire and assumed the title of Augustus. Virgil paints a dramatic picture of the clash: "Agrippa, favoured by the winds and the gods, leads his towering column of ships, his brow shines with the beaks of the naval crown, his proud battle distinction." (Aeneid 8.682-3). Indeed, although Agrippa is shown bare-headed here, other denarii (e.g. RIC I 414) depict him with a composite mural and rostral crown to represent his dizzying array of military achievements on land and sea. His distinctive heavy features and furrowed brow mark him out both as the experienced military commander and intellectual thinker he was.
In reward for his role in Augustus' rise to power, Agrippa received two more consulships and the hand in marriage of Augustus' niece in 28 BC, which would closely bind him to the imperial family. However, after the death of Augustus' son-in-law and heir apparent Marcellus in 23 BC, the emperor re-married Agrippa to his daughter Julia and heaped long-lasting military imperium and tribunician power upon him, firmly establishing his position as an integral part of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. They had five children, including the two princes Lucius and Gaius Caesar and one of his daughters from his first marriage went on to marry the future emperor Tiberius. Augustus would formally adopt Agrippa in 17 BC, declaring him his intended successor.
The coinage of 13 BC celebrates both men with bold twin portraits upon the occasion of the renewal of their tribunician powers. It was marked by a ceremony in Rome, to which both had freshly returned from campaign, Augustus in Gaul and Agrippa in the East. This moment of celebration was quickly overshadowed by tragedy: Agrippa died in Campania in 12 BC, and was honoured in a manner befitting his status as heir and longstanding companion of Augustus, with a lavish funeral and a final resting place in the Mausoleum of Augustus.
Good Extremely Fine; banker's mark to obv, beautiful old cabinet tone with two bold, distinctive portraits. Rare and arguably the finest known example.
From the Vogelberg Collection (Switzerland), formed c. 1960-1985;
Ex Münzen & Medaillen AG Basel, FPL 100, February 1951, no. 47;
Ex Henry Platt Hall Collection, Glendining & Co., 19 July 1950, lot 873;
Ex Dr. Bonazzi Collection, Rodolfo Ratto, Auction 1, 23 January 1924, lot 1548;
Ex M. P. Vautier & Prof. M. Collignon Collection, Naville & Cie., Auction II, 12 June 1922, lot 198.
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus met in boyhood, but their relationship was cemented after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, when Agrippa was elected tribune of the plebs and served alongside Octavian and Mark Antony as a military commander at the Battle of Philippi. During the subsequent years, he swiftly rose through the political system as Urban Prefect, Governor of Transalpine Gaul, Consul and Curule Aedile and commanded Octavian's fleet at the decisive Battle of Actium in 31 BC, after which Octavian became sole ruler of the Roman empire and assumed the title of Augustus. Virgil paints a dramatic picture of the clash: "Agrippa, favoured by the winds and the gods, leads his towering column of ships, his brow shines with the beaks of the naval crown, his proud battle distinction." (Aeneid 8.682-3). Indeed, although Agrippa is shown bare-headed here, other denarii (e.g. RIC I 414) depict him with a composite mural and rostral crown to represent his dizzying array of military achievements on land and sea. His distinctive heavy features and furrowed brow mark him out both as the experienced military commander and intellectual thinker he was.
In reward for his role in Augustus' rise to power, Agrippa received two more consulships and the hand in marriage of Augustus' niece in 28 BC, which would closely bind him to the imperial family. However, after the death of Augustus' son-in-law and heir apparent Marcellus in 23 BC, the emperor re-married Agrippa to his daughter Julia and heaped long-lasting military imperium and tribunician power upon him, firmly establishing his position as an integral part of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. They had five children, including the two princes Lucius and Gaius Caesar and one of his daughters from his first marriage went on to marry the future emperor Tiberius. Augustus would formally adopt Agrippa in 17 BC, declaring him his intended successor.
The coinage of 13 BC celebrates both men with bold twin portraits upon the occasion of the renewal of their tribunician powers. It was marked by a ceremony in Rome, to which both had freshly returned from campaign, Augustus in Gaul and Agrippa in the East. This moment of celebration was quickly overshadowed by tragedy: Agrippa died in Campania in 12 BC, and was honoured in a manner befitting his status as heir and longstanding companion of Augustus, with a lavish funeral and a final resting place in the Mausoleum of Augustus.