LEPIDUS & OCTAVIAN, 42 BC. DENARIUS [NGC CHOICE EXTREMELY FINE 4/5

Description: LEPIDUS AND OCTAVIAN, 42 BC. (DENARIUS 3.89G) [THE FINEST PORTRAIT OF LEPIDUS!] VERY RARE, EXTREMELY FINELEPIDUS AND OCTAVIAN, "Triumvir and Imperator" 42 BC. spring-summer Italy (Denarius 3.89g mm) OBV: LEPIDVS PONT MAX III V R P C around. Head of Lepidus right.RV: C CAESAR IMP III VIR R P C around. Head of Octavian right.Crawford 495/2d Syd-1323 var.(R6) Sear Imperators 140a RSC 2 [NGC CHOICE EXTREMELY FINE 4/5 - 3/5] This coin depicting Lepidus and the inscription; (III VIR R P C LEPIDUS PONT MAX), shorter for the Latin; tresviri rei publicae constituendae Lepidus Pontifex Maximus, which translates One of Three Men for the Regulation of the Republic, Lepidus, Chief Pontiff. A very historically significant and rare coin indeed. "This issue, struck by M. Lepidus is prominent among Triumviral issues of 43-42. It should be regarded as struck from the proceeds of the proscriptions in preparation for the campaign of 42." Crawford "Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was Julius Caesar's colleague in the consulship of 46 BC. After the latter's death he was taken into the triumvirate by Octavian and Antony. After Philippi he was given the governorship of Africa, but having attempted to acquire Sicily for himself, he was deprived of all power. He died in 13 BC." Seaby "Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was the younger son of the M. Lepidus who held the consulship in 78 BC. He was a moneyer around 61 BC. and as praetor in 49 gave his support to Caesar in the civil war with Pompey. Rewarded with the governorship of Nearer Spain (48-47 BC.) he then returned to Rome and held the consulship in 46 with the dictator as his colleague. From 46-44 he served as magister equitum (master of horse) and was thus one of the most influential men in Rome at the time of Caesar's assassination on the Ides of March, 44 BC. In return for the armed support which he gave to Mark Antony at this critical juncture he was granted the title of pontifex maximus held formally by the dictator. Despite protestations of loyalty to the Republic given to Cicero, Lepidus continued to support Antony and on 27 November 43 BC. the two men, together with Caesar's heir Octavian, formed the Second Triumvirate. This was followed by the notorious proscriptions in which many prominent Romans lost their lives on account of their wealth and their political affiliations. Lepidus took no active part in the Philippi campaign in the autumn of 42 BC. remaining instead in Rome to ensure that no trouble arose in the capital. After Philippi he faded into the background, overshadowed by the more powerful personalities of Antony and Octavian. He retained his triumviral rank until 36 when he was deposed by Octavian following an attempted coup in Sicily during the war against Sextus Pompey. The remaining 23 years of his life were spent as a state prisoner in the coastal town of Circeii, some 60 miles south of Rome. Lepidus continued as pontifex maximus until his death in 13 BC., the only man other than the emperor to hold this office during the Roman Imperial period." David Sear

Price: 12000 USD

Location: Alpharetta, Georgia

End Time: 2024-11-05T21:28:48.000Z

Shipping Cost: 25 USD