Details

LOT 2902

Augustus and Agrippa AE Dupondius of Nemausus, Gaul. 27 BC-AD 14.

Struck AD 10-14. Head of Agrippa to left, wearing rostral crown combined with laureate crown, back to back with laureate head of Augustus to right; IMP above, DIVI • F below, P P across 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; two palm fronds below. RIC I 160; RPC I 525. Near Extremely Fine. Dark green patina with earthen highlights.(13.28gr, 26mm, 11h.).

Provenance

Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.

Footnotes

This artistically fascinating and typologically unique coin 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.