In a while, crocodile

That took a while, to find this croc, top five on my bucket list
I like the coin cause of the history, but certainly also because of the mean crocodile on the reverse with a mouth full of teeth.

The Roman city of Nemausus (modern Nîmes) in southern Gaul issued a large coinage throughout Augustus' reign with the standard reverse design of a crocodile chained to a palm branch and the ties of a laurel wreath flying above. The crocodile clearly stands for Egypt or more specifically Cleopatra, chained to Rome.
The coin also refers to the presence of veterans of the Actium campaign settled in Nîmes by Octavian. The obverse shows the busts of Augustus (right) and his great friend and general, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (left).

Although both back-to-back portraits are on the same level, only Octavian is referred in the legend IMP DIVI. F, which is completed by PP (pater patriae) in the latter series belonging to the so-called “group III type 4”. This coin is type 4. You can see the P underneath both chins.

It's fun to read that some authors believe the portrait is Tiberius and not Agrippa. Tiberius accompanied Augustus during his three-year stay in Gaul and Spain and probably became the ruler of Nîmes.



Agrippa & Augustus, dupondius.
Mint Gaul Nemausus, ca 10-14 AD.
Obv. Back-to-back heads, Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown and Augustus right, laureate; IMP above, P P across fields, DIVI F below.
Rev. Crocodile right, chained to palm branch with long vertical fronds; above, wreath with long ties, palms below; COL NEM.
13,12 g.
RPC 525; RIC I 160

 

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Congrats, @Marsman ! And, you got a great one... nice! Great detail on the reverse.

Here is mine


RI Augustus oak crown Agrippa rostral crown L AE Dupondius 26mm 12.6g 10-14CE Nemausus chained Croc snake wreaths RIC I 158

 

This is one of the nicest of it's type that I've seen @Marsman. Especially the reverse. All the devices are there in great detail. The obverse is nothing to sneeze at either. It would have been nice if it were center better, but much nicer than anything I have. Congrats!

 

Nice, great patina on it.


Augustus, with Agrippa (27. B.C. 14 A.D.)
GAUL, Nemausus
Æ As
O: Heads of Agrippa left, wearing rostral crown and laurel wreath, and Augustus right, wearing oak wreath, back to back. IMP above, DIVI F below.
R: Crocodile right chained to palm branch with long vertical fronds; above, wreath with long ties, palms below; COL NEM flanking vertical palm.
Nemausus mint, 9-3 B.C
10.26g
27mm
RPC I 524; RIC 1 158

 

Very nice example, @Marsman ! Here's my humble example:

 

Excellent example of the type !
Congrats

I can't resist posting mine

type III



Type IV



Type IV


Q

 

To me, the Tiberius on the left theory needs to explain the rostral crown which is most appropriate for the naval commander Agrippa. Also, the city was founded as a retirement site for soldiers who served in the civil wars against Antony and Cleopatra so the city would have a reason to honor Agrippa. I believe the type was cancelled at the time of Augustus' death because Tiberius would see no reason for it. By then, most veterans of Actium would have passed away.

I offer no photos except for the ones on my page:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/impossible.html

 

WoWiE!!! Some truly amazing coins in this thread.
It's just such a unique coin. Not only did the celetors do a great job in executing but what an awesome design! You just don't see this kind of innovation in artistry later on.
Here's one of the earliest coins I purchased from eBay and then a recent auction win.

 

Nice coin. Very well struck. A bit off center on the obverse, but the reverse is spot on. Congrats on checking off one from your bucket list.
Later alligator.

 

Very cool crocodile.

 

Awesome coin Marsman, congrats.

 

Totally sweet crocs, all!



Erin

 

Nice croc Marsman! One of my favorite coin types.

Without the 'P P':

 

Really great coin @Marsman - great reverse and cool obverse. I do not have one of these types but the historical allusion to Actium and Agrippa's naval defeat of Antony and Cleopatra surely makes for a very interesting coin. Congrats.

 

Wow, stellar coin @Marsman! I love this type, and very much love my own one and a half examples. The first came from @Gavin Richardson, and the second half of a coin I couldn't pass up since it showed Agrippa's rostral crown so well. It is also, I now notice, without the 'PP' seen on my other example.

I wonder why this type was so commonly cut in half?

 

What a beautiful coin! Congratulations!
These are such an amazing type.
I do not have one to show but I have enjoyed all of these displayed on the thread

 

Outstanding coin @Marsman, congratulations.

 

Thank you all for the kind words, much appreciated
There are some beautiful examples of this type out there

 

Ae As or Dupondius of Nemausus 9/8-3 B.C. RPC 524 Third group. 12.51 grms 27 mm After buying this coin I did a little research on the coinage and the history of Nemausus. The area seems to have been settled by the Volcae Arecomici sometime in the mid third century B.C. They appear to have surrendered to the Romans in 121 B.C. and were allowed to maintain some of their traditions including holding their assemblies in the sacred woods of Nemausus. In 40 B.C. a Roman colony with Latin rights was set up there and sometime around 28 B.C. the status of the colony changed to that of full Roman citizenship. This seems to have happened when Augustus was in the region.
It was more or less at this time that the coinage was initiated. Which brings up perhaps one of the more pertinent questions the composition of the colonists. A number of sources claim that veterans including possibly even legionaries from Marc Antony's legions were settled there. The big problem is that this assertion finds little favor among the local historians. one problem is that there is absolutely no evidence that this actually happened.
The obverse types seem to have been inspired by the benefactions given to the city by both Augustus and Agrippa. It seems that Agrippa paid for the "Maison Carree" a temple which at a later time was re purposed to honor his two grandsons Caius and Lucius. It is interesting that the reverse image that of a crocodile chained to a palm tree still exists as the civic badge of Nimes This one is covering some kind of port.

 

What a magnificent COL NEM, @Marsman! The strike, centering, and surfaces are really outstanding!!

@Mat, I love yours and others with the whack-a-doodle jaws. Teeth pointing upwards from the upper jaw? What kind of drugs was the engraver on?

My first Nemausus was in a group lot of mostly Ptolemaic bronzes. At first I didn't know what it was. At a glance I thought the reverse was some kind of galley .


Augustus & Agrippa
Gaul, Nemausus, c. CE 10-14
AE dupondius
Obv: IMP/DIVI F P-P, back-to-back heads of Agrippa, in combined rostral crown & laurel wreath, and Augustus, laureate
Rev: COL-NEM, long, vertical palm with crocodile chained below, wreath to left of palm tip with ties trailing to right
Ref: RIC 160
ex Professor James R. Eaton (1834-1897) Collection

Several years ago I upgraded. Kept the first one though... it's so hard to part with coins!


Augustus & Agrippa
Gaul, Nemausus, c. 10 BCE - CE 10
AE dupondius
Obv: IMP/DIVI; heads of Agrippa to left, wearing combined rostral crown and laurel wreath, and of Augustus to right, wearing oak wreath, back to back
Rev: COL-NEM; long, vertical palm with crocodile chained below, wreath to left of palm tip with ties trailing to right; two palm fronds below
Ref: RIC 158; AMC 425; Cohen 10; RPC 524