The Roman Empire
Dynastic Issues of Augustus
L. Marius C.f. Tromentina. Denarius 13 BC, AR 3.91 g. AVGVSTVS Bare head of Augustus r.; behind, lituus . Rev. C·MARIVS TRO – III – VIR Diademed and draped bust of Julia as Diana r., quiver on far shoulder. C 1. BMC 104. RIC 403. CBN 524.
Very rare and in unusually fine condition for this difficult issue. Two elegant portraits
of fine style struck on a full flan. Light iridescent tone and extremely fine NAC sale 52, 2009, 311.

You would be so hard pressed to find a better example than the present coin. MSG.

Augustus, a man with few peers in political success, suffered numerous setbacks in his family life: at least four of his chosen heirs – Marcellus, Agrippa, Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar – predeceased him, and for breaches of conduct he banished his daughter Julia and his last grandson, Agrippa Postumus. This, of course, does not take into account the prospect that his wife Livia was responsible for any of the heinous crimes of which she has been accused. Initially, Julia seemed an ideal Roman heiress. She was married, in sequence, to three of Augustus’ chosen heirs (Marcellus, Agrippa and Tiberius), and this denarius of 13 B.C. represents a peak moment of stability and success for the emperor’s family. The whole of the royal family converged in Rome to celebrate recent victories in Rhaetia, the consecration of the Ara Pacis, the first consulship of Tiberius, and the senate’s renewal of the tribunician power for Augustus and Agrippa. This latter honour was of great importance, for it confirmed the arrangement by which Augustus and Agrippa were virtual equals in power. This dynastic declaration found form on the imperial coinage. The relevant issues portrayed Agrippa and Julia (on this issue in the guise of Diana) and their two sons, Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar and, of course, Augustus. Also of dynastic value were issues of the previous year that showed Augustus’ stepsons Tiberius and Nero Claudius Drusus handing branches to Augustus, who sits atop a podium. Soon after the great occasion for which this denarius was issued, however, the Augustan family luck faltered; Agrippa died unexpectedly in the following year, causing the widow Julia to enter into a tragically unhappy marriage with Tiberius. Already having lost two husbands, and clearly incompatible with Tiberius, her behaviour became more extreme until it came to the notice of her father.
One of the major challenges facing Augustus in his later years was what would happen to the empire he had built after he was gone. The last thing he wanted, or Rome needed, was a power struggle to succeed him. This surely could have plunged the empire back into civil war (as would prove the case after the death of Nero who died without an heir).
The one man who surely had Augustus’ trust and confidence had always been his closest friend and advisor, Marcus Agrippa. Through the coinage, it is clear that Agrippa was marked as the successor. When Agrippa died Augustus turned to his two grandsons Caius and Lucius. Sadly both of them would also predecease the great emperor. His wife, Livia, had long wished that her own son, Tiberius, would become the chosen one to succeed Augustus. But the emperor was clearly reluctant to choose Tiberius and it is not until very late in his reign, after running out of other options, that Tiberius was finally given the role of successor. Other than the common issues showing the young grandsons, all of these dynastic issues are rare. The group of coins below offers a rare chance to see these pieces all exhibited together in one collection. It would take years to build this set in any grade, let alone in the condition they are here. MSG.

This lot, and the previous two, consist of three very difficult issues which are all in great condition. Finding one in a sale would be exciting, having all three appear is almost unheard of.