Watch List notes:

AR Denarius 37–38 AD, CALIGULA with AGRIPPINA SENIOR Lugdunum. Bare head right C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT. Rev. draped bust of Agrippina Maior right AGRIPPINA MAT C CAES AVG GERM.RIC 14 (Rome); Coh. 2; BMC 15.Even in her own time Agrippina the Elder was a figure of fame. The daughter of Augustus' close friend Marcus Agrippa and Augustus' only daughter Julia (thus making her granddaughter to Augustus) she was born for greatness. In 5 AD she married Germanicus, the nephew of future emperor Tiberius, and they became the parents of emperor Gaius and his three sisters Julia Drusilla, Julia Livilla and Agrippina the Younger. She was known to have accompanied her husband on his campaigns in the frontier regions and brought their children with her. This was when Gaius earned his nickname Caligula, a diminutive of the caliga-type sandals the soldiers wore. After her husband unexpectedly died she became bitter enemies with the old emperor Tiberius, who had become paranoid and weary of his relatives. Eventually he exiled her to the island of Pandateria where she died in 33 AD.

It is not difficult to imagine why Caligula would honor his mother on his precious metal coinage. She was the embodiment of many 'Roman' values and a direct descendant of Augustus. It was possibly also an attempt to give her posthumously the honors Tiberius had refused her in life. The combination of these two famous individuals on this coin type makes it highly sought-after and desirable.

Ex. Schulman Vault Collection -> Ex. auction Numismatic Fine Arts VI, 27 & 28 Feb. 1979, lot 628 -> Ex. auction Etienne Bourgey, 20 Dec. 1921, lot 106.3.84 g. NGC XF. Strike 4 out of 5; Surface 4 out of 5