Catalog
Stater Augustus and Agrippa
| Issuer | Bosporan Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 9 |
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| Weight | 7.87 g |
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| Obverse description | Bare head of Augustus facing left, rendered in fine high relief with naturalistically modeled hair falling in short locks over the forehead. The portrait displays the characteristic idealized features of Augustan numismatic iconography, with a strong profile and smooth facial planes. No legend or inscription appears in the field. The coin surface shows the typical irregular flan of hammered Bosporan gold coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Bare head of Agrippa facing right, depicted in vigorous high relief with closely cropped hair, rendered in a style consonant with Hellenistic-influenced Bosporan court portraiture. A monogram appears to the left of the portrait in the field. Below the truncation, the Greek letters ΕΤ (abbreviation for ἔτους, 'year') flank the regnal date, here corresponding to year 305 of the Pontic Era (9 AD). No border legend is present, and the reverse field is otherwise plain. |
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| Additional information |
Issued under the joint authority of Augustus and Agrippa — the latter of whom died in 12 BC, meaning the posthumous use of his image here reflects the Bosporan court's deliberate, if slightly anachronistic, alignment with Roman power — this stater belongs to a series that marks the kingdom's full integration into Rome's client-state network following Asander's dynasty. The Bosporan kingdom minted these gold staters in a Greek weight tradition while visually advertising Roman patronage, a calculated dual loyalty that kept the dynasty solvent and autonomous for generations.