AUGUSTUS
27 BC - AD 14 
Fourrée Denarius. 2.70g, 19.7mm
MINTED: Irregular mint, after 15 BC, contemporary plated imitation of issue from Lugdunum
REF: Cf. RIC 171b (for prototype)
OBVERSE: AVGVSTVS DIVI•F, bare head left.
REVERSE: [IMP •X] / ACT•, Apollo Citharoedus of Actium advancing to left, holding lyre with his left hand and plectrum in his right.
 
Notes:
Some breaks in silver plating showing exposed core. 
A fourrée is an ancient coin with a base metal core that was then plated with a thin layer of precious metal (typically silver, but sometimes also gold or electrum).  These were most often counterfeit copies of existing coin types, produced by ancient forgers who would then pass them off as the real thing.  Surviving examples typically have their original surface plating broken in areas.  In some cases, the plating has completely corroded and worn away, leaving only the base metal core.
This particular fourrée copies an interesting historical type.  The inscription of ACT on the reverse indicates that it depicts Apollo Citharoedus of Actium.  The Battle of Actium, on 2 September 31 BC, was Augustus's greatest victory, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII, a victory that paved the way for his becoming the first emperor of the Roman Empire.  Apollo's sanctuary at Actium overlooked the site of the battle, and Augustus regarded the deity as one of his divine patrons.  
 
Historical Notes:
Augustus, known earlier in his life as Octavian, was the founder of the Roman Empire.  He was 19 years old when he was named the heir of Julius Caesar, his grand uncle, when the latter was assassinated in March 44 BC by a group of senators. The inexperienced youth had to walk a perilous path during that tumultuous period, but with the loyalty of Caesar's veteran soldiers, he and his ally Mark Antony were able to inflict total political and military defeat upon Caesar's assassins. In the ten years that followed their victory, Octavian consolidated his power base in Rome and surrounded himself with able generals and faithful followers, while Antony was left to rule the Roman provinces in the east.

Full scale civil war erupted between the former allies in 31 BC, and Octavian had the Roman Senate denounce Antony as a traitor and declare war on him and his lover, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. Antony and Cleopatra were defeated at the naval battle in 31 BC, and fleeing back to Egypt, they both committed suicide, leaving Octavian the sole ruler of the Roman world.

As Princeps Civitatis, or First Citizen of the State, Augustus, as he now called himself, carefully maintained the illusion of the old Republic, though he was in fact emperor in all but name. He spent the next decades overhauling the Roman bureaucracy, military, and economy, constructing public roads and buildings on an unprecedented scale. He expanded the borders and sphere of influence of his new Empire while establishing a long-lasting peace within. At the end of his life, he is said to have proclaimed, "I found Rome built of bricks; I leave her clothed in marble". He died in AD 14, at the age of 75, having ruled for 40 years.