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Search Advanced Search Search By Coin ID     Home ANCIENT/BYZANTINE Ancient Spain (872) Byzantine (753) MEDIEVAL/EARLY WORLD Germany (30) MODERN WORLD COUNTERFEITS AND IMITATIONS   Submit New Coin(s)   Sponsors page Terms of Service Contact Us About Us FAQ Page Coin Detail Click here to see enlarged image. ID:     38-18      [UNVERIFIED] Type:     Roman Imperial Issuer:     Caligula Date Ruled:     AD 37-41 Metal:     Gold Denomination:     Aureus Struck / Cast:     struck Date Struck:     AD 37-38 Diameter:     20 mm Weight:     7.66 g Obverse Legend:     C CAESAR AVG GERM PM TR POT Obverse Description:     Laureate head of Gaius right Reverse Legend:     AGRIPPINA MAT C CAES AVG GERM Reverse Description:     Draped bust of Agrippina right Mint:     Rome Primary Reference:     RIC 013 Reference2:     BMC 014 Reference3:     C 1 Reference4:     CBN 22; Kent-Hirmer 166; Calicó 326a (this coin); Biaggi 194 (this coin) Photograph Credit:     Numismatica Ars Classica NAC AG Source:     http://www.arsclassicacoins.com/ Price Sold For:     49000 Swiss Franc Date Sold:     03/21/2007 Grade:     gEF Notes:     NAC Auction 38, Lot 18 Extremely rare. Two fantastic portraits of great beauty, especially the one of Agrippina is unusually nice. A scuff and a scratch on obverse, otherwise good extremely fine Ex Naville III, 1922, Evans, 26 and Glendining, 1950, Platt Hall, 1005 sales. When Caligula became emperor he did so as the lone-surviving male of the lines of Augustus and Germanicus; though his three sisters were still alive, he had lost both parents and both brothers during the reign of Tiberius. His father had died under mysterious circumstances and the rest fell during the family’s contest for power against Tiberius and his prefect Sejanus. Since Caligula’s claim to power rested upon his membership in the Julio-Claudian family, early in his reign he tried to curry favour by taking a journey to the islands of Potnia and Pandateria to gather the ashes of his mother Agrippina and his eldest brother Nero Caesar. (His brother Drusus Caesar died of starvation in prison, and none of his remains survived.) The seas were stormy, and the perilous nature of his journey only amplified the appearance of Caligula’s devotion to the memory of his family. As part of this programme of honouring his ill-fated relatives, Caligula issued this aureus with the portrait of his mother, who for the decade after Germanicus’ death had been Tiberius’ greatest critic, and his most persistent opponent. On this aureus her facial features are similar to those of Caligula – a feature that seems to combine family resemblance and a programmatic desire to show the kinship between the new emperor and his mother.

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