This stater was struck under the joint authority of Augustus and Agrippa, reflecting the peculiar political arrangement whereby the Bosporan Kingdom — nominally independent but firmly within Rome's orbit — acknowledged both men simultaneously on its coinage. Agrippa had campaigned in the Black Sea region in 14 BC, reasserting Roman influence over client states including the Bosporus, and coins pairing him with Augustus served a pointed diplomatic function. Agrippa died in 12 BC, making issues that postdate his death anachronistic tributes rather than contemporary portraits of living rulers.
This stater was struck under the joint authority of Augustus and Agrippa, reflecting the peculiar political arrangement whereby the Bosporan Kingdom — nominally independent but firmly within Rome's orbit — acknowledged both men simultaneously on its coinage. Agrippa had campaigned in the Black Sea region in 14 BC, reasserting Roman influence over client states including the Bosporus, and coins pairing him with Augustus served a pointed diplomatic function. Agrippa died in 12 BC, making issues that postdate his death anachronistic tributes rather than contemporary portraits of living rulers.