The crocodile bronze of Nîmes
1st century BC ・ bronze ・ 1st century BC ・ Colonia Nemausus (present-day Nîmes)
obverse
reverse
A bronze as struck at Colonia Nemausus, present-day Nîmes. On the face, back-to-back portraits of the emperor Augustus and his right hand Agrippa, with the legend IMP. On the back, a crocodile chained to a palm — a design commemorating the conquest of Egypt — and the legend COL NEM. It is a leading example of the Roman provincial coinage struck on Gaulish ground: a conquered province carried the face of its conqueror and his victory about with it in the small change of every day. The town of Nîmes still bears this crocodile on its arms.