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ANA Signature Sale 3101 25-28 Aug 2022
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Gaius (Caligula) (AD 37-41), with Germanicus. AR denarius (18mm, 3.55 gm, 11h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 2/5. Rome, AD 37-38. C•CAESAR•AVG•GERM•P•M•TR•POT, laureate head of Caligula right / GERMANICVS•CAES•P•C•CAES•AVG•GERM, bare head of Germanicus right. RIC I 18. BMC 19. Lyon 172. Of great historical importance and with two fine Julio-Claudian portraits.
From the Leo's College Fund Collection
Caligula's tenure as Roman emperor was an abject failure; after displaying initial promise and popularity, he descended into madness, self-indulgence, and violence. Referring to himself as Jupiter or the New Sun God on official public documents, he named his horse a consul and declared war on the sea, forcing troops to stab the Mediterranean with their spears. He was said to kill for the fun of it and once ordered an entire section of the audience to be fed to the beasts for his own excitement. Caligula was assassinated in AD 41 at the age of 28, falling well short of the Roman people's early high expectations for him. The lofty expectations Romans initially had for Caligula's reign were largely based in the achievements and mystique of his father Germanicus, a titan of the Julio-Claudian age beloved for decades after his death.
Germanicus was fortunate to be connected by blood or marriage to nearly all the important imperial figures of his age: his grandparents included Livia, the first empress, Mark Antony, Caesar's most trusted lieutenant, and Augustus' sister Octavia. He was also the nephew of the second emperor Tiberius, and if that was not enough, he married Agrippina, daughter of Augustus' right-hand man Marcus Agrippa and granddaughter of Augustus himself. With such a pedigree and enormous inherited wealth, Germanicus could have enjoyed a life of leisure and hedonism, but he was a bold spirit and pursued life with an uncommon vigor and tenacity, becoming one of Rome's most celebrated and successful commanders. After displaying impressive success serving in Illyria, Augustus promoted Germanicus, only 28 years of age, to commander of all forces on the German frontier, Rome's most important border. For four years, Germanicus achieved victory after victory in an Alexander or Napoleon-like fashion, establishing his legacy as perhaps the greatest Roman general of the Imperial age. Only four years before, three Roman legions had been wiped out in the Teutoburg Forest by the Germanic chieftan Arminius. Germanicus soundly defeated him in battle, as Tacitus writes that "the enemy were slaughtered from the fifth hour of daylight to nightfall, and for ten miles the ground was littered with corpses and weapons." The Roman armies were even able to reconquer one of the lost legionary eagles from Teutoburg, and the men returned to the site to bury their former comrades bones, which had remained strewn about the battlefield. Germanicus was beloved by his men; he often paid the soldiers bonuses out of his own enormous personal wealth, and took great care for his troops' well-being.
His ever-jealous uncle Tiberius, surrounded by conniving advisors in Rome, ordered his recall and eventually dispatched him to the East, where he enjoyed still more success and popularity. In 19 AD, at the age of 33, Germanicus died in the Syrian port of Seleucia. Many, including Germanicus himself, believed he had been poisoned either on the order of Tiberius or by the governor of Syria Calpernius Piso, a bitter enemy. In death, Germanicus was revered and worshipped as a great conqueror and benevolent leader. His beloved wife Agrippina, heartbroken over her husband's death, worked tirelessly to keep the case of his death alive and used her imperial connections to finally bring governor Piso before the Senate in a murder trial. Germanicus' great popularity and some potential remorse from Tiberius essentially condemned Piso, who committed suicide during the trial, though the was much gossip that Tiberius had murdered Piso to prevent him from disclosing Tiberius' own involvement in the murder.
Owing to Germanicus' stellar reputation, Caligula sought to associate himself with his dead father throughout his reign. This coin bears not only portraits of the father and son pair, but also the legend P C CAES for Germanicus, meaning "father of Caius (Caligula) Caesar," in order to make sure that people made the connection between the heroic conqueror and his son the emperor.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-gaius-caligula-ad-37-41-with-germanicus-ar-denarius-18mm-355-gm-11h-ngc-choice-vf-5-5-2-5/a/3101-35230.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3101-08252022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved
Gaius (Caligula) (AD 37-41), with Germanicus. AR denarius (18mm, 3.55 gm, 11h). NGC Choice VF 5/5 - 2/5. Rome, AD 37-38. C•CAESAR•AVG•GERM•P•M•TR•POT, laureate head of Caligula right / GERMANICVS•CAES•P•C•CAES•AVG•GERM, bare head of Germanicus right. RIC I 18. BMC 19. Lyon 172. Of great historical importance and with two fine Julio-Claudian portraits.
From the Leo's College Fund Collection
Caligula's tenure as Roman emperor was an abject failure; after displaying initial promise and popularity, he descended into madness, self-indulgence, and violence. Referring to himself as Jupiter or the New Sun God on official public documents, he named his horse a consul and declared war on the sea, forcing troops to stab the Mediterranean with their spears. He was said to kill for the fun of it and once ordered an entire section of the audience to be fed to the beasts for his own excitement. Caligula was assassinated in AD 41 at the age of 28, falling well short of the Roman people's early high expectations for him. The lofty expectations Romans initially had for Caligula's reign were largely based in the achievements and mystique of his father Germanicus, a titan of the Julio-Claudian age beloved for decades after his death.
Germanicus was fortunate to be connected by blood or marriage to nearly all the important imperial figures of his age: his grandparents included Livia, the first empress, Mark Antony, Caesar's most trusted lieutenant, and Augustus' sister Octavia. He was also the nephew of the second emperor Tiberius, and if that was not enough, he married Agrippina, daughter of Augustus' right-hand man Marcus Agrippa and granddaughter of Augustus himself. With such a pedigree and enormous inherited wealth, Germanicus could have enjoyed a life of leisure and hedonism, but he was a bold spirit and pursued life with an uncommon vigor and tenacity, becoming one of Rome's most celebrated and successful commanders. After displaying impressive success serving in Illyria, Augustus promoted Germanicus, only 28 years of age, to commander of all forces on the German frontier, Rome's most important border. For four years, Germanicus achieved victory after victory in an Alexander or Napoleon-like fashion, establishing his legacy as perhaps the greatest Roman general of the Imperial age. Only four years before, three Roman legions had been wiped out in the Teutoburg Forest by the Germanic chieftan Arminius. Germanicus soundly defeated him in battle, as Tacitus writes that "the enemy were slaughtered from the fifth hour of daylight to nightfall, and for ten miles the ground was littered with corpses and weapons." The Roman armies were even able to reconquer one of the lost legionary eagles from Teutoburg, and the men returned to the site to bury their former comrades bones, which had remained strewn about the battlefield. Germanicus was beloved by his men; he often paid the soldiers bonuses out of his own enormous personal wealth, and took great care for his troops' well-being.
His ever-jealous uncle Tiberius, surrounded by conniving advisors in Rome, ordered his recall and eventually dispatched him to the East, where he enjoyed still more success and popularity. In 19 AD, at the age of 33, Germanicus died in the Syrian port of Seleucia. Many, including Germanicus himself, believed he had been poisoned either on the order of Tiberius or by the governor of Syria Calpernius Piso, a bitter enemy. In death, Germanicus was revered and worshipped as a great conqueror and benevolent leader. His beloved wife Agrippina, heartbroken over her husband's death, worked tirelessly to keep the case of his death alive and used her imperial connections to finally bring governor Piso before the Senate in a murder trial. Germanicus' great popularity and some potential remorse from Tiberius essentially condemned Piso, who committed suicide during the trial, though the was much gossip that Tiberius had murdered Piso to prevent him from disclosing Tiberius' own involvement in the murder.
Owing to Germanicus' stellar reputation, Caligula sought to associate himself with his dead father throughout his reign. This coin bears not only portraits of the father and son pair, but also the legend P C CAES for Germanicus, meaning "father of Caius (Caligula) Caesar," in order to make sure that people made the connection between the heroic conqueror and his son the emperor.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/ancients/roman-imperial/ancients-gaius-caligula-ad-37-41-with-germanicus-ar-denarius-18mm-355-gm-11h-ngc-choice-vf-5-5-2-5/a/3101-35230.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-WorldCoins-3101-08252022
HID02906262019
© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved