Description:  Obverse: quadriga of elephants with riders, drawing Augustus standing l. on carriage. Reverse: legends in border.

This coin demonstrates the enduring importance of the legacy of Augustus, even twenty years after his death. The ruler of the day, Tiberius I, is apparent only inthe coin's legend, all representation being given to his deceased adoptive father. The Pontifex Maximus, now the title of the pope, was the chief priest of ancient Rome, a dignity held by the emperor. The tribunician power meant that Tiberius could call an assembly of the people, sit in the Senate, veto any law, and that his person was sacred and inviolable.

Inscriptions:  Obverse: DIVO•AVGVSTO•S•P•Q•R• ([From the] Senate and People of Rome to the Divine Augustus)
Reverse: TI•CAESAR•DIVI•AVG•[F•AVGV]ST•P•M•TR•POT•XXXVII (Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus, Chief Priest [in his] thirty-seventh Tribunician Power) / S C (By permission of the Senate)

Bibliography:  RIC I Tiberius 42; RIC I(2) Tiberius 62.

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