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The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

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DIVUS AUGUSTUS. 269<strong>The</strong> conjunction <strong>of</strong> memorial portraits <strong>of</strong> Augustus<strong>and</strong> Agrippa involves no anachronism, <strong>and</strong>, since bothpersonages were extensively commemorated on coinsstruck under Tiberius, <strong>the</strong>re isnothing improbable infinding <strong>the</strong> double commemoration on a coin <strong>of</strong> thisperiod.<strong>The</strong> portrait <strong>of</strong> Agrippa issimilar to that shown onhis well-known asses with <strong>the</strong> reverse type <strong>of</strong> Neptune(Coh., Ag. 3), which are assigned by Cohen to <strong>the</strong>period 27-12 B.C., but by Laffranchi to <strong>the</strong> reign <strong>of</strong>Caligula.It seems ra<strong>the</strong>r a digression from <strong>the</strong> subject <strong>of</strong> thispaper to enter into <strong>the</strong> question <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> date <strong>of</strong> Agrippa'sasses at any length but, since <strong>the</strong> memorial coin we;are considering is obviously connected with <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rcoins <strong>of</strong> Agrippa, <strong>the</strong> main points for fixing <strong>the</strong>ir datemay be outlined briefly as follows :(1) <strong>The</strong> style <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> asses (Neptune type), notablywith respect to <strong>the</strong> bold treatment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> portrait <strong>and</strong>square form <strong>of</strong> lettering, is clearly not that <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Augustan period, but exactly corresponds with that <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> coins struck between A.D. 22 <strong>and</strong> 41. At <strong>the</strong> outset,<strong>the</strong>refore, we must ab<strong>and</strong>on Cohen's date, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>choice lies between <strong>the</strong> reign <strong>of</strong> Caligula <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> latterpart <strong>of</strong> that <strong>of</strong> Tiberius.(2) <strong>The</strong> reign <strong>of</strong> Caligula seems too short a periodfor so vast an issue <strong>of</strong> coins, since <strong>the</strong>se asses are, asevery collector knows, amongst <strong>the</strong> commonest coins<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first century.(3) Cohen enumerates three varieties <strong>of</strong> Agrippa'sasses which bear <strong>the</strong> Tribunician dates <strong>of</strong> Tiberius, viz.XXIII (=A.D. 21), XXIIII ( = A.D. 22-31),<strong>and</strong> XXXVIII(=A.D. 36). This being so, it seems reasonable to

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