Featured Ancients: The Battle of Actium (Octavian aureus)

Octavian was the son of Julius Caesar's niece and Caesar himself sponsored his introduction into public life when Octavian accompanied his uncle in his triumph over the Spanish in 46 BC. Only twenty years old at the time, Octavian was studying in Greece when he learned of Caesar’s assassination. Caesar had adopted him as his son posthumously and Octavian returned to Italy with a strong desire to avenge his murder.

He leveraged his association with Caesar to gain the confidence of the troops and the Senate eventually granted him a consulship. In 43 BC, he formed the Second Triumvirate with Marc Antony and Lepidus. They defeated Brutus and Cassius and divided the empire into areas of operational focus, with Octavian holding most of the West and Antony the East.

Antony grew progressively closer to Cleopatra while Octavian worked to restore Italy. In 33 BC, the Second Triumvirate ended, leaving Antony without any legal authority. Octavian then began a campaign against Antony, declaring war against Cleopatra.

Octavian’s admiral Marcus Agrippa held Antony’s fleet back in the bay of Actium in Greece, slowly causing Antony’s men to lose faith in his leadership. On September 2nd, Antony attempted to escape but only he and Cleopatra managed to break free with a small squadron, leaving the rest of his men to surrender to Octavian.

Antony fled to Alexandria and he and Cleopatra eventually took their own lives in August, 30 BC after being cornered by Octavian, marking the end of the Roman civil wars in a complete and devastating victory.
Rome was officially transformed from a Republic to a Principate in January, 27 BC with a final and peaceful revolution. Octavian made an offer to resign from all of his offices, but the Senate refused, recognizing his leadership as indispensable to the stability of Rome. The Senate bestowed upon him a multitude of honors, including the new name, “Imperator Caesar Divi Filius Augustus”, most commonly referred to as simply “Augustus” – “The Revered One”.

Octavian renounced his old name which was associated with his military power and only used “Augustus” moving forward, focusing on its connotations of rule with the consent of the governed populace. The name Augustus was assumed by all of his successors as the mark of imperial rank. Over the next forty years, Augustus shared his authority with the Senate, only retaining the powers he truly needed, leaving most of the prestigious traditional offices available to others who desired public careers.

The aureus as a denomination dates back only to the time of Sulla in 80 BC but had been infrequently issued and rare. Worth one hundred sestertii, the aureus represented a very large sum of money and its use during the Republic and Imperatorial period was primarily for military purposes, struck by traveling mints under the authority of the field commander. The earliest aurei became the standard gold denomination of Rome for the next four centuries. Starting at 10.80 grams, 30 pieces to a pound of metal, the gold weight would be debased many times throughout Rome’s history. This debasement began only a decade after Sulla when Pompey issued aurei at a weight standard of 9.00 grams, 36 pieces to a pound.

It would not be until Augustus’ coinage reform in 23 BC that the aureus would come into standard use. In addition to his reorganization of the state and institutions of Rome, Augustus introduced a formal system of fixed ratios between denominations of coins.

Initially, the names of the magistrates responsible for minting the coins, the triumviri monetales, were included on all of the coins in all metals as a sign of respect. This helped reduce the confusing political influences which had been affecting the coins during the late Republic.

This coin, however, predates the reform, dating only to 32 BC, when he was still referred to as Octavian. This type was Octavian’s counterpart to Mark Antony’s famous “legionary” series and was among Octavian’s final issues prior to the Battle of Actium, likely struck to fulfill the financial needs in anticipation of the inevitable confrontation with Antony and Cleopatra.

The obverse style shows a portrait with significant aesthetic sensitivity compared to his earlier depictions. It has been speculated that this was a deliberate attempt to assimilate his features with those of the beautiful god Apollo, whom he had adopted as his patron.

The inscription on the reverse of this coin puts it amongst his war coinage, minted for the payment of his troops during the Actian campaign. It reads “CAESAR DIVI F”, proclaiming Octavian as the “Son of the Divine Julius”, having been adopted by Caesar as his son and made his heir by his will.

The reverse promises peace not only from Octavian’s victory at Actium, but also from the annexation of Galatia and subjugation of Spain. As this aureus predicts, his reign did indeed give Rome a “golden era” known as the “Pax Romana” (Roman Peace) during which he served for 41 years.

Interestingly, this coin repeats a type which had originally appeared on a denarius of 41 BC. The representation of Octavian likely depicts the statue which had been erected in Rome to honor his participation in the battle of Philipi, showing Octavian on horseback raising his right hand in salute to his troops.

This coin has a storied history, residing in some major collections as well as the honor of being published in several reference guides:

“The History and Coinage of the Roman Imperators” (page 242, coin number 394)
“Gold Coins of the World” (page 41, 7th edition)
“Ancient Coin Collecting III (page 43) and Ancient Coin Collecting (page 20)” by Wayne G Sayles, 2nd Edition
"Julius Caesar and His Legacy" – (full page image on xv and as coin 23, published by NFA in 1991)
“Leo Biaggi de Blasys’ Complete Collection of Roman Gold”
"Hunter Collection" - Ira and Larry Goldberg

Octavian. Gold Aureus (7.8g) minted at Rome, 32-31 BC. Bare head right of Octavian right. Reverse: Equestrian statue of Octavian galloping left, his right hand extended. Sear 1530; Calicó 187; RIC 262; Cohen 73. Strong artistic portrait. Very rare. Extremely Fine. Ex. Hunter Collection, Biaggi Collection

 

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Stunning coin. Im lucky to even have a silver of him.


Octavian, Triumvir and Imperator, Augustus (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.)
AR Denarius
O: Bare head of Octavian right.
R: CAESAR DIVI F, Mercury seated right on rock, playing lyre, petasos around neck.
Struck 32 B.C. - 31 B.C.
Rome? Mint
3.33g
RIC 257, CRI 401, BMCRR 4335

 

I think you've outdone even yourself on this one AJ. For my money and interest anyways, this is one of the finest coins, with the most intriguing history that you've posted.

And that's saying a lot!

Thanks for sharing it.

 

I enjoy Octavian's coins so much because of the lack of obverse legend. For some reason it just makes it that much more pleasing in my eyes.

An absolutely superb coin.

 

Such a beautiful coin and stellar provenance! Thanks for the engaging writeup too

 

GADZOOOKS!

 

Wonderful coin AJ.

 

Nice coin. Nice write up.

guy

 

Great write up, and coin. Not quite as nice as the OPs coins, but here a couple of denarii I have related to the battle of Actium.



Mark Antony, Triumvir and Imperator, 44 - 30 B.C., Silver denarius, cf. Crawford 544/14, Sydenham 1216, BMCRR 190, and RSC I 27 ff., Fair, Patrae?, 2.818g, 17.7mm, 180o, 32 - 31 B.C.; obverse ANT•AVG / III VIR•R•P•C, galley right with rowers, mast with banners at prow, border of dots; reverse LEG - [...], legionary eagle between two standards, border of dots Ex Forvm


The silver for this issue may have come from the Ptolemaic treasury, and this coin may have been present at the Battle of Actium.




Octavian, Triumvir and Imperator, Augustus 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D

Silver denarius, Fair, rough, Italian (Rome?) mint, weight 3.495g, maximum diameter 18.5mm, die axis 270o, c. 29 - 27 B.C.; obverse IMP CAESAR, Octavian, holding olive branch, driving triumphal quadriga right; reverse Victory standing right on prow, wreath in right, palm over shoulder in left

RIC 264, RSC 155 - RSC 115?, sear5 1555 ex Forvm


"This coin commemorates Octavian's victory at Actium and his triumph. The silver for this issue may have come from the Ptolemaic treasury"

 

This coin is practically a celebrity! Thanks for sharing it.

 

Another terrific write-up; a way with words that I think should have more precedence in the Ancient coin world. I own Harlan's "100 Greatest Ancient Coins." I don't think I would be exaggerating to say that If you were to consolidate these posts into an organized, published work, that I (among many others) would enjoy it just as much, if not more. High resolution images with a full page to itself, Obv over Rev, and the write-up on the following page. "Ancient Joe's Superior Ancient Numismatic Convocation" It has a rhythm

 

Absolutely stunning. In a league of your own.

 

=> man, ya gotta love dem animal coins!! (bravo, AJ)

 

Thanks! I may end up doing just that. I'm building a website at the moment which affords some additional flexibility when adding coins, but I would enjoy putting together a printed book (I say that now, not realizing how much work it would probably end up being ).

 

I agree - anepigraphic obverses are extremely appealing to me, offering an aesthetic simplicity. One of the first aurei I encountered was on the Wikipedia page for "Aureus" and it made me deeply want one without legends. It's in the British Museum so it certainly won't be available, but mine is fairly similar

 

Thanks!

 

Fine coin -- I saw this at its previous auction and found it extremely appealing. I too find anepigraphic coins (either obverse or reverse) very appealing, since these types of coins place a premium on a high-quality, artistic portrait or reverse.

Curiously, of the two anepigraphic coins in my 12 Caesars collection, one is also an Octavian:



OCTAVIAN (AUGUSTUS)
AR Denarius (3.84 g.) Brundisium & Rome (?) ca. 29 - 27 B.C. RIC 265a
Bare head of Octavian right; rev. IMP - CAESAR military trophy, base crossed w/rudder and anchor set on prow right

 

Since we're on Augustus/Octavian. I'll throw my own favorite Augustus into the mix.

AJ's coin was minted in 32 BC. This coin was a death commemorative of Augustus minted under Tiberius in between 22 and 30AD. I suppose it's a measure of the man that they were minting coins with his likeness for over 60 years.

Augustus; (minted under Tiberius) 22-30 AD
AE As; Rome Mint; 29mm/11g
Obv: DIVVS AVGVSTVS PATER; Augustus radiate bust left
Rev: PROVIDENT S C; Facade of Ara Providentiae Augusti Double Paneled Door with Horns Above (Sear 1789, RIC I 81)

 

For sure

 

Not to change the subject too much; I remember my grandfather attempting to explain to me around age 5 the reasoning behind Cinderella nick-naming Octavius, Gus... It didn't strike me until age 17 when I started collecting ancients. Start at 1:30

Unfortunately for my generation and the ones to follow, child aged media has since become "simplified."