AE As

Struck: 27 B.C. – A.D. 14)
Mint: Spain
Size: 30mm
Weight: 11.84g
Die Axis: 0°
Grade: gF
Ref: RPC I 4

Obv: IMP AVG DIVI F. Bare head left, caduceus behind.
Rev: Celt-Iberian shield
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Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BC via his last will and testament, and between then and 27 BC was officially named Gaius Julius Caesar. In 27 BC the Senate awarded him the honorific Augustus ("the revered one"), and thus known as Julius Caesar Augustus.

The young Octavius came into his inheritance after Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. In 43 BC, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in a military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. As a triumvir, Octavian ruled Rome and many of its provinces. The triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its rulers; Lepidus was driven into exile, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by the fleet of Octavian commanded by Agrippa in 31 BC.

After the demise of the Second Triumvirate, Octavian restored the outward facade of the Roman Republic, with governmental power vested in the Roman Senate, but in practice retained his autocratic power. Augustus' control over the majority of Rome's legions established an armed threat that could be used against the Senate, allowing him to coerce the Senate's decisions. With his ability to eliminate senatorial opposition by means of arms, the Senate became docile towards him. His rule through patronage, military power, and accumulation of the offices of the defunct Republic became the model for all later imperial governments.

Augustus reformed the Roman system of taxation, developed networks of roads, established a standing army, the Praetorian Guard, and created official police and fire-fighting services. Augustus was declared a god by the Senate and worshipped by the Romans. His names Augustus and Caesar were adopted by every subsequent emperor, and the month of Sextilis was renamed 'Augustus' in his memory. He was succeeded by his adopted son Tiberius.