Julia Augusta (Livia), Augusta, 14-29. Dupondius (Orichalcum, 28 mm, 15.37 g, 6 h), Rome, struck under Tiberius, 22-23. IVSTITIA Diademed and draped bust of Julia Augusta (Livia) as Justitia to right. Rev. TI•CAESAR•DIVI•AVG•F•AVG•P•M•TR•POT•XXIIII• around large S•C. BMC 79. CBN 57. Cohen 4. MIR 33-5. RIC 46. A very attractive coin with a particularly elegant portrait of Livia. Slightly rough and with some die corrosion (?) on the reverse, otherwise, about extremely fine.

This beautiful dupondius depicts Livia, wife of Augustus and mother of Tiberius, in the guise of Justitia. Even in antiquity, her image was complex - ranging from that of an archetypal Roman matron devoted to family and piety, to a ruthless, power-hungry schemer who eliminated anyone standing in the way of her son's rise. Much of this duality likely stemmed from her unprecedented level of auctoritas for a woman, which allowed her to enter the male-dominated sphere of politics in ways the Senate was unaccustomed to. While Augustus had been able to treat Livia as an equal in many respects, her position became considerably more fraught under Tiberius. Livia, it seems, was not content to retire into private life, but Tiberius could ill afford to appear dominated by his mother. This tension came to a head in 26, when the emperor retreated to Capri - allegedly to escape her influence. When Livia died three years later, her son did not even attend her funeral. It would fall to Gaius and Claudius to restore her reputation as Rome’s first First Lady