JOINT LECTURE EVENING

The riddle of Actium: coin propaganda and finances on Rome's path to monarchy

A lecture by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Wolters, University of Vienna, Institute for Numismatics and Monetary History.

The Friends of the Staatliche Münzsammlung München and the Bavarian Numismatic Society jointly invite you to this lecture evening.

At Actium the Roman civil war between Mark Antony and Octavian, the later Augustus, was decided. Even contemporaries saw the naval battle of autumn 31 BC as the threshold of an era: the unrivalled victor took hold of the exhausted Republic as sole ruler.

In circulation, the legionary denarii of Mark Antony recalled the confrontation for more than two centuries. Their counterparts on Octavian's side were far finer gold and silver coins bearing the legends CAESAR DIVI F and IMP CAESAR. Yet for this strikingly pictorial group of coins, which is also excellently represented in the Staatliche Münzsammlung München, it remains disputed exactly when and where they were struck. Did the coins already serve to finance the war and their images to encourage the soldiers, or was the group only struck after the victory, for rewards and discharge payments? Given the pointed coin images, this uncertainty in research is puzzling.

An analysis of the strike structures, which turn out to be almost playful, the evaluation of coin finds, and finally a close look at the economic and political situation 'around Actium' should help to describe the place and significance of this group of coins for Rome's path to monarchy.

We would appreciate a short registration so we can plan better. It is voluntary and of course free of charge.

Recording Most of our lectures appear one to two weeks after the event on our YouTube channel.