Augustus

Dupondius · Bronze

RIC I² 154

Obverse

Heads of Agrippa (left) and Augustus (right) back to back, Agrippa wearing combined rostral crown and laurel wreath and Augustus is bare-headed

Reverse

Crocodile chained to palm-shoot with long vertical fronds and tip left: above on left a wreath with long ties

Historical Note

The chained crocodile commemorates Rome's conquest of Egypt following the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra in 30 BC. Egypt was the richest province in the empire — its grain fed Rome and its treasure transformed Augustus's finances. The crocodile symbolises Egypt (the Nile crocodile was sacred there); the palm-shoot represents Rome's victory. These coins were struck at Nemausus (modern Nîmes) in southern Gaul, a colony of Augustan veterans, many of whom had served in the Egyptian campaign. This variant's long vertical fronds indicate an earlier issue within the series.