Naville Numismatics Ltd.
Auction 39 29 Apr 2018
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Agrippina Senior, mother of Gaius Sestertius circa 37-41, Æ 31.05mm., 28.19g. AGRIPPINA M F MAT C CAESARIS AVGVSTI Draped bust of Agrippina r. Rev. S P Q R / MEMORIAE / AGRIPPINAE Carpentum drawn by two mules l.; the cover supported by figures, and with ornamented side. C 1. BMC 85. CBN 128. Kent-Hirmer pl. 47, 164. NAC sale 74, 302 (same dies). RIC 55.
Very rare, Attractive brown tone. A delicate portrait of lovely style. About Extremely Fine.
Agrippina Senior was among the most deserving, yet least fortunate of the Julio-Claudian women. After her marriage in A.D. 5 to Augustus' preferred heir, Germanicus, she was poised to achieve a status on par with the empress Livia. However, with the death of Augustus and the accession of Tiberius, power within the dynasty shifted decisively from the Julians to the Claudians. Even though Agrippina's marriage offered a union of the two bloodlines, her prospects did not survive under Tiberius. When Germanicus died at Antioch late in A.D. 19 under suspicious circumstances, Agrippina devoted herself to opposing Tiberius and his prefect Sejanus. Finally, in 29, Tiberius deprived her of freedom, and in 33 she died in exile. Three issues of sestertii were struck for Agrippina Senior, all posthumously. The first, produced by her son Caligula, shows on its reverse a carpentum; the second, issued by her brother Claudius, has on its reverse a large SC surrounded by a Claudian inscription; the third is a restoration of the Claudian type by the emperor Titus (79-81), whose inscriptions are substituted for those of Claudius. The obvese inscription on Caligula's issue, AGRIPPINA M F MAT C CAESARIS AVGVSTI, describes Agrippina as the daughter of Marcus (Agrippa) and the mother of Gaius (Caligula). Claudius' inscription also identifies her as Agrippa's daughter, but ends GERMANICI CAESARIS, thus shifting the focus from her being the mother of Caligula to being the widow of Claudius' deceased brother Germanicus. Distinctions in the portraits follow the same lines as the inscriptions: on the issue of Caligula, Agrippina has a slender profile like that of her son, whereas on Claudius' her face is broader and fuller, in keeping with his appearance.
Very rare, Attractive brown tone. A delicate portrait of lovely style. About Extremely Fine.
Agrippina Senior was among the most deserving, yet least fortunate of the Julio-Claudian women. After her marriage in A.D. 5 to Augustus' preferred heir, Germanicus, she was poised to achieve a status on par with the empress Livia. However, with the death of Augustus and the accession of Tiberius, power within the dynasty shifted decisively from the Julians to the Claudians. Even though Agrippina's marriage offered a union of the two bloodlines, her prospects did not survive under Tiberius. When Germanicus died at Antioch late in A.D. 19 under suspicious circumstances, Agrippina devoted herself to opposing Tiberius and his prefect Sejanus. Finally, in 29, Tiberius deprived her of freedom, and in 33 she died in exile. Three issues of sestertii were struck for Agrippina Senior, all posthumously. The first, produced by her son Caligula, shows on its reverse a carpentum; the second, issued by her brother Claudius, has on its reverse a large SC surrounded by a Claudian inscription; the third is a restoration of the Claudian type by the emperor Titus (79-81), whose inscriptions are substituted for those of Claudius. The obvese inscription on Caligula's issue, AGRIPPINA M F MAT C CAESARIS AVGVSTI, describes Agrippina as the daughter of Marcus (Agrippa) and the mother of Gaius (Caligula). Claudius' inscription also identifies her as Agrippa's daughter, but ends GERMANICI CAESARIS, thus shifting the focus from her being the mother of Caligula to being the widow of Claudius' deceased brother Germanicus. Distinctions in the portraits follow the same lines as the inscriptions: on the issue of Caligula, Agrippina has a slender profile like that of her son, whereas on Claudius' her face is broader and fuller, in keeping with his appearance.