Stater - Aspurgus Augustus and Agrippa

Aspurgus consolidated Bosporan power by playing Rome with considerable skill — he secured recognition from Augustus, then Tiberius, adopting the title of king while maintaining the fiction of client status. This stater, struck in regnal year 31 of the Bosporan era, dates to that careful balancing act. The pairing with Agrippa rather than Augustus alone is unusual and reflects the political weight Agrippa carried in Rome's eastern arrangements before his death in 12 BC — suggesting this issue predates that event and narrows the window considerably.