Bid SheetAuction 143 7 May 2024
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The Dioscuri Collection. The Roman Empire. Gaius, 37-41.
Denarius, Lugdunum circa 37-38, AR 18 mm, 3.73 g. C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT Bare head of Gaius r. Rev. AGRIPPINA MAT C CAES AVG GERM Draped bust of Agrippina r., hair falling in plait down neck. C Gaius and Agrippina 4. BMC 8. RIC 8. CBN 12.
Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Perfectly struck and centred on
a very large flan, light iridescent tone and good extremely fine
Ex Triton IV, 200, 459 and Helios 4, 2009, 244 sales. From the A. Lynn collection.
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 denarius 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 denarius 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.
Denarius, Lugdunum circa 37-38, AR 18 mm, 3.73 g. C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT Bare head of Gaius r. Rev. AGRIPPINA MAT C CAES AVG GERM Draped bust of Agrippina r., hair falling in plait down neck. C Gaius and Agrippina 4. BMC 8. RIC 8. CBN 12.
Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue. Perfectly struck and centred on
a very large flan, light iridescent tone and good extremely fine
Ex Triton IV, 200, 459 and Helios 4, 2009, 244 sales. From the A. Lynn collection.
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 denarius 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 denarius 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.