Obv. IMP / [DIVI F], Agrippa's laureate head left and Augustus bare head right.
Rev. COL NEM, Crocodile on palm branches right.
Bronze, 6,97 g, 25,3 mm. RIC 155, RPC 523. Near Extremely Fine.
The obverse of the coin celebrates Agrippa, admiral of Augustus' fleet, his friend, son-in-law and victor of the Battle of Actium (31 BC), who was killed in 12 BC. The reverse refers to Octavian's capture of Egypt in 30 BC. An issue of this type of coin was minted around 27 BC and has an average weight of 16.74 g out of 31 pieces according to the Roman Provincial Coinage. The average weight of second-issue coins is 12.50 g for 84 pieces. The third issue, on the other hand, has an average weight of 13.27 g calculated for 194 coins. Coins from the first issue should therefore be described as dupondii. Determining the denomination of the next coins is questionable, their weight is too high, because they could undoubtedly be considered aces (light dupondiuses?). Clear aces, such as the offered 'lightweight' specimen weighing around or under 10 grams, are rare.
The obverse typology of the Nemaussus coins puts them on a par with the city coins of Vienne, Lyon, Orange and possibly Narbonne. When the production of the latter ceased, only Nîmes coins were still minted. While the 'heavy' pieces from the first issue are rare, the other three are more common, with the exception of the youngest (?) specimens, which weigh less than 10 grams. We are probably dealing with two denominations, dupondius and aces, whose weight was gradually reduced - fiduciary money in the full sense of the word, which made it possible to feed a Gaul structurally deprived of imperial currency and ensured high profits from production.
