Augustus and Agrippa, Silver Denarius, Rome, 13 BC

Augustus (27 B.C. - A.D. 14), Silver Denarius. Mint of Rome, struck by C. Sulpicius Platorinus, 13 B.C. CAESAR AVGVSTVS, bare head of Augustus facing right, rev. M AGRIPPA - PLATORINVS III VIR, bare head of Agrippa facing right, 3.90g., 7h (BMC 114; C. 3; RIC 408). Toned, with a particularly strong portrait of Agrippa, good very fine, rare.

This stunning silver denarius, minted in Rome around 13 BC by the moneyer C. Sulpicius Platorinus, captures one of the most powerful and unique political statements of the early Roman Empire. By placing the bare head of Augustus on the obverse and the bare head of his lifelong best friend Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa on the reverse, the coin celebrates an unbreakable bond built on absolute trust and mutual dependence. In reality, these two men were closer than brothers, forming a legendary partnership that literally changed the course of history. Long before Octavian became Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, he and Agrippa were childhood friends who stuck together through thick and thin. Agrippa was not just a friend, he was the tactical genius, master builder, and brilliant military commander who actually won Augustus's wars for him most notably commanding the fleet at the decisive Battle of Actium. Without Agrippa's military brilliance and unwavering loyalty, Octavian likely would have been defeated, meaning someone else might have ruled Rome, and the Roman Empire under "Augustus" never would have existed at all. By issuing this coin, Augustus was publicly honouring the man to whom he owed his entire crown, proving that behind the first emperor stood the ultimate friend who made his reign possible.

The obverse legend CAESAR AVGVSTVS translates to "Caesar the Venerated One."

The reverse legend M AGRIPPA - PLATORINVS III VIR translates "Marcus Agrippa Platorinus, Moneyer one of the board of three."