Augustus, 27 BC-AD 14. Denarius (Silver, 19 mm, 3.91 g, 6 h), Lugdunum, 15 BC. AVGVSTVS DIVI•F Bare head of Augustus to right. Rev. IMP•X / SICIL• Diana standing front, head to right, holding spear in her right hand and bow in her left; to her lower right, dog standing left. BMC 463. Cohen 146. RIC 173a. Beautifully toned. Faint marks and with light deposits on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.



On 3 September 36 BC, off the northeastern tip of Sicily, Agrippa and Sextus Pompey met in the Battle of Naulochus - a protracted and fiercely contested naval engagement between fleets of roughly 300 ships on each side. Agrippa ultimately triumphed, reportedly losing only three ships - a number likely softened by propaganda - while more than 160 of Sextus’ vessels were sunk, burned, or captured. Sextus himself fled with 17 ships, but after a series of wanderings through Asia Minor, he was captured the following year and executed. In the aftermath of his victory, Agrippa dedicated a shrine to Diana Siciliensis at Naulochus. This denarius of Augustus, struck in 15 BC - just two decades later - depicts the statue that Agrippa and his master, then still known as Octavian, had installed in the sanctuary.