Catalog
Denarius - Juba II Caesarea, without symbol before Africa
| Issuer | Mauretania |
|---|---|
| Year | 25 BC - 24 AD |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Diademed and draped bust of King Juba II facing right, wearing a radiate or wreathed crown adorned with sprigs, with long curling locks falling behind the neck in the Hellenistic royal tradition. The portrait is rendered in a fine Greco-Roman style, reflecting the king's cosmopolitan cultural identity. The Latin legend REX IVBA is disposed around the bust in the field, with individual letters partially visible due to the irregular flan. The execution is characteristic of the Caesarean mint's early issues, combining Hellenistic portraiture conventions with Roman epigraphic practice. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Juba II ruled Mauretania as a client king under Augustus after being raised in Rome following his father's defeat at Thapsus in 46 BC — making him arguably more Roman than the kingdom he governed. His coinage borrowed heavily from Roman monetary conventions while inserting local divine references, a deliberate balancing act between appeasing his overlords and asserting a distinct dynastic identity.
The "without symbol" variants catalogued under MAA#74 and CNNM#130 reflect the inconsistent die preparation common to Caesarean mint production across Juba's nearly five-decade reign. The SNG Copenhagen gap is telling.