Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XXVII 22-23 Mar 2023
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Caligula, with Divus Augustus, AR Denarius. Lugdunum, AD 37. C • CAESAR • AVG • GERM • P • M • TR • POT • COS, bare head of Gaius 'Caligula' to right / Radiate head of Divus Augustus to right, flanked by two stars. RIC I 2; BMCRE 4; BN 3-8; RSC 11. 3.77g, 20mm, 2h.
Good Extremely Fine; two highly attractive portraits, pleasant light cabinet tone.
Ex Thomas A. Palmer Collection;
Ex Classical Numismatic Group, inventory no. 737486, April 2004;
Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Triton VII, 13 January 2004, lot 849.
Much attention has been given over the years to the seemingly base character of Gaius, known to history as Caligula (meaning 'little soldier's boot) after the nickname he acquired as a child from his father Germanicus' soldiers during their campaign in Germania. Though there are few surviving sources concerning his reign, he is generally described as noble and moderate in the first six months of his rule, after which time the sources focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance and sexual perversion. All surviving sources, except Pliny the Elder, characterise Caligula as insane, but given his extreme unpopularity it is difficult to separate fact from fiction in the historical record.
Recent studies have attempted to ascribe a medical reason for his unusual behaviour, citing encephalitis, epilepsy or meningitis as possibilities, however the question remains unanswered. Philo of Alexandria, Josephus and Seneca state that Caligula was insane, but describe this madness as a personality trait that came through experience. Certainly the experiences in the early years of his life would have been sufficient to leave an individual severely traumatised at the very least; born in AD 12 into the perilously dysfunctional Julio-Claudian family, his father Germanicus was allegedly poisoned by an agent of Tiberius (Germanicus' uncle) when Caligula was only seven, and his mother Agrippina and eldest brother Nero were banished by the emperor on charges of treason in 29. His other older brother Drusus was imprisoned on similar charges in AD 30, and in the same year Nero was killed or committed suicide. His mother was mistreated in exile, losing an eye during a beating from a centurion, and died in AD 33. Tacitus (Annals, 6.25) speculates that she was starved to death as was Drusus, who died after having been reduced to chewing the stuffing of his bed. Meanwhile, Caligula and his sisters were "nothing more than prisoners of Tiberius, under the close watch of soldiers" according to Suetonius (Lives of the Caesars, III.64). All the while, Caligula was forced to act as though he bore Tiberius no ill-will, whom Caligula claimed to have planned to kill with a dagger in order to avenge his mother and brother (Lives of the Caesars, IV.12).
The grief felt by Caligula at the loss of his murdered parents, Germanicus and Agrippina, and his murdered brothers, Nero Caesar and Drusus Caesar, is evident in his efforts to commemorate their memories, of which his coinage provides numerous examples. Here, he celebrates his familial right to rule through his association with the first emperor, his great-grandfather, Augustus.
Good Extremely Fine; two highly attractive portraits, pleasant light cabinet tone.
Ex Thomas A. Palmer Collection;
Ex Classical Numismatic Group, inventory no. 737486, April 2004;
Ex Classical Numismatic Group, Triton VII, 13 January 2004, lot 849.
Much attention has been given over the years to the seemingly base character of Gaius, known to history as Caligula (meaning 'little soldier's boot) after the nickname he acquired as a child from his father Germanicus' soldiers during their campaign in Germania. Though there are few surviving sources concerning his reign, he is generally described as noble and moderate in the first six months of his rule, after which time the sources focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance and sexual perversion. All surviving sources, except Pliny the Elder, characterise Caligula as insane, but given his extreme unpopularity it is difficult to separate fact from fiction in the historical record.
Recent studies have attempted to ascribe a medical reason for his unusual behaviour, citing encephalitis, epilepsy or meningitis as possibilities, however the question remains unanswered. Philo of Alexandria, Josephus and Seneca state that Caligula was insane, but describe this madness as a personality trait that came through experience. Certainly the experiences in the early years of his life would have been sufficient to leave an individual severely traumatised at the very least; born in AD 12 into the perilously dysfunctional Julio-Claudian family, his father Germanicus was allegedly poisoned by an agent of Tiberius (Germanicus' uncle) when Caligula was only seven, and his mother Agrippina and eldest brother Nero were banished by the emperor on charges of treason in 29. His other older brother Drusus was imprisoned on similar charges in AD 30, and in the same year Nero was killed or committed suicide. His mother was mistreated in exile, losing an eye during a beating from a centurion, and died in AD 33. Tacitus (Annals, 6.25) speculates that she was starved to death as was Drusus, who died after having been reduced to chewing the stuffing of his bed. Meanwhile, Caligula and his sisters were "nothing more than prisoners of Tiberius, under the close watch of soldiers" according to Suetonius (Lives of the Caesars, III.64). All the while, Caligula was forced to act as though he bore Tiberius no ill-will, whom Caligula claimed to have planned to kill with a dagger in order to avenge his mother and brother (Lives of the Caesars, IV.12).
The grief felt by Caligula at the loss of his murdered parents, Germanicus and Agrippina, and his murdered brothers, Nero Caesar and Drusus Caesar, is evident in his efforts to commemorate their memories, of which his coinage provides numerous examples. Here, he celebrates his familial right to rule through his association with the first emperor, his great-grandfather, Augustus.