Nemausus, Gaul
Augustua and Agrippa
ca. 27 BCE -14 AE
AE 25.4mm, 12.5g
Obv: Back-to-back laureate busts of Agrippa (on left) and Augustus (on right): IMP above and DIVI F below
Rev: Crocodile to right chained to palm branch, wreath above and palms below; COL-NEM across fields
RIC I 158, RPC I 524
Nemausus was the modern day city of Nîmes, France. Today, the amphitheater and other ruins are very well preserved and are popular tourist attractions. Particularly famous is a temple, one of the best preserved in the world.
This coin commemorates the Roman subjugation of Egypt, which may seem odd for a coin minted in modern-day France. Many of those soldiers were settled in Nemausus, and thus the theme would have been familiar to them.
Nemausus was populated back to 4000 BCE, and eventually served as a Celtic capital. It later became a major Roman city, and was the birthplace of Antoninus Pius.
The Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus begins a campaign in Nemausus
The Romans found the province Gallia Transalpina, including Nemausus
The Via Domitia is built through Nemausus
Nemausus becomes a Roman colony