Watch List notes:

JDL Collection Part II: Roman Coins
THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

CALIGULA, March 18, 37 – January 24, 41.

Sestertius, Rome 37–38, Æ 30.05 g.
Obv. CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT
His laureate head left; border of dots.
Rev. ADLOCVT / COH Caligula standing left before the sella castrensis (the seat of the Army chief) on platform, haranguing five soldiers, the two rearmost pairs of soldiers carry an aquila; border of dots.
Literature
Cohen 1
BMC RE I, 151, 33, pl. 28, 3
RIC I2, 110, 32
BN 45
Kent-Hirmer pl. 49, 168 (variant)
M.-M. Bendenoun, Coins of the Ancient World, A portrait of the JDL Collection, Tradart, Genève, 2009, 48 (this coin)
Condition
Extremely rare and undoubtedly the finest specimen known of this issue and one of the best sestertii in existance. A portrait of enchanting beauty and the work of a very skilled master- engraver and with a very detailed reverse composition.
Perfectly struck and centred on a very large flan. Superb Tiber tone and good extremely fine.

Provenance
Bank Leu AG 36, Zürich 1985, lot 235.
Bank Leu AG 10, Zürich 1974, lot 48 (illustrated on the front cover page).
The praetorian guards played an important role in Roman history up through the third century A.D., after which time the capital became had became somewhat irrelevant to most imperial affairs. Often the praetorians influenced the emperor, and on some occasions they caused a new emperor to be acclaimed or aided in the overthrow of a reigning emperor. One of the most infamous prefects of the guard was Sertorius Macro, who in 31 replaced the murdered Aelius Sejanus.
Nearly six years later, when Tiberius died – perhaps with the aid of Macro himself – the prefect navigated the transition of power by offering his support to Caligula, the most promising of Tiberius' co-heirs.
Though Macro did not survive long into the reign of Caligula, he perhaps was singlehandely responsible for the annulment of Tiberius' will and the smooth accession of Caligula that followed. Suetonius describes how after Caligula had gained the support of the guards, the senate unhesitatingly granted him ius arbitriumque omnium rerum, or what amounted to full authority over the state. In this instance the senate handed over to 18-year-old Caligula a broad range of authorities
that Augustus had painstakenly assembled over a period of decades.
Tiberius' will allocated one thousand sestertii for each praetorian guard, an amount that Caligula doubled upon realizing that his power was based largely in the support of the guard. These funds were paid out promptly at a ceremony that we may presume is commemorated by the adlocutio cohortis sestertii
of 37. Some senators were present at the event, no doubt to make an impression. The precedent established by Tiberius and Caligula was dangerous, and four years later Claudius considered it necessary to increase the amount to 15,000 sestertii per guard.
The absence of SC (senatus consulto or senatus consultum) from the inscription on this sestertius is of great interest, for there is no reason to believe its exclusion was accidental. The inescapable message to the senate was that the emperor's newfound authority was assured by his relationship with the guard.
It is worth noting that two other sestertii of Caligula do not bear the SC. One of these commemorates his reception of the honourary oak wreath, and the other was issued by
Caligula on behalf of his deceased mother, Agrippina Senior. In both cases, however, the SC may not have been deemed necessary since these are the only two of his imperial bronzes that bear the inscription SPQR, which likely was deemed a sufficient replacement. The SC is also missing from Caligula's quadrantes, though this may have been due to their somewhat different function in the monetary system.