The Obverse depicts Victory standing on the prow of a ship, in a clear allusion to Augustus' victory at Actium, while the Reverse, with its simple Legend IMP CAESAR, shows Augustus standing in a triumphal quadriga.
The Triple Triumph of 29 BC (celebrated 13-15 August) was for his campaigns in Illyricum, Actium, and the defeat of Cleopatra. As the summary of Livy (Book 133) states it: "Thus after twenty years he brought the civil wars to an end."
Much of Augustus' early coinage, such as this denarius of 32-29 BC, reinforces his connection to the military. Here the Reverse shows him as a commander, while the Obverse is a portrait of Venus.
Image: RIC Augustus 251
Image: RIC Augustus 251
Thus this one coin celebrates the two initial pillars of Augustus' power: his connection to the name of Caesar and his control of the army, especially following the Battle of Actium.
Overt military imagery would later give way to that of a more triumphal quality - reinforcing the messaging that Roman peace was maintained through the Augustan control of a victorious Roman army. But more on 'Peace' on Augustan coins tomorrow. #ACOTD
