Catalog
Denarius - Juba II Caesarea
| Issuer | Mauretania |
|---|---|
| Year | 6 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.94 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Victory (Nike) standing to the right atop an elephant head, rendered in the Hellenistic allegorical style. The goddess holds a wreath in her extended right hand and a palm branch in her left, both attributes emblematic of triumph and royal glory. The regnal year numeral R XXXI appears in the left field behind the figure, indicating the thirty-first year of Juba II's reign. The elephant head, a recurring device on Mauretanian royal coinage, evokes North African prestige and military power. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Juba II ruled Mauretania as a client king under Augustus — educated in Rome, friend to the imperial household, and by most accounts more comfortable writing Greek scholarship than governing a North African kingdom. His coinage was produced at Caesarea (modern Cherchell, Algeria) and reflects that dual identity: a Romanized prince issuing coins on a reduced Augustan denarius standard rather than any indigenous weight system. The reference alignment across CNNM, MAA, and SNG Copenhagen confirms this as a well-documented type, though the series as a whole is considerably rarer than contemporary Roman imperial issues.