OCTAVIAN. Denarius (30 BC). Uncertain Italian mint, possibly Rome.

Obv: Victory standing right on prow of galley, holding palm frond and wreath.
Rev: IMP CAESAR.
Octavian driving triumphal quadriga right, holding branch and reins.

RIC² 264.

This is one of the first issues to bear the legend IMP CAESAR, after Octavian assumed the praenomen Imperatoris in 29 BC. The obverse type is a clear reference to the naval battle of Actium in 31 BC, where Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra, who committed suicide a year later. Octavian ordered the murder of Cleopatra's son Caesarion and decided to seize Egypt in 30 BC, driven above all by the need to secure Egyptian grain, important for Rome's annona, and to get his hands on the Ptolemaic treasury. This enabled him to settle many war debts, pay off soldiers and arrange the settlement of a number of colonies scattered across the vast empire. It is probable that this denarius was struck from the spoils obtained in Egypt and that the type of the reverse recalls Octavian's triumphal entry into Alexandria.

Condition: Good very fine.

Weight: 3.69 g.
Diameter: 19 mm.