Lot 2229
Gaius Caligula, with Germanicus. Silver Denarius (3.53 g), AD 37-41. Lugdunum, AD 37/8. C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT, laureate head of Gaius Caligula right. Reverse: GERMANICVS CAES P C CAES AVG GERM, bare head of Germanicus right. RIC 18; Lyon 172; BN 28-9; BMC 19; RSC 2. Well centered and struck. Toned. NGC grade Ch XF; Strike: 5/5, Surface: 4/5. Estimate Value $4,000 - 5,000
From the Dr. Patrick Tan Collection. Ex Nomos 11 (9 October 2015), 164.
This denarius was struck at the beginning of the reign of the young Emperor Gaius - known popularly as Caligula because of the little military boots (caligae) that he wore in the army camps as a boy. The reason for his presence in the camps is depicted on the reverse of the coin: his father, the beloved grand-nephew and adopted son of Tiberius, who spent much of his career leading the legions against the enemies of the Empire, especially in Germania. Germanicus had been the intended heir of Tiberius, but he died suddenly at Antioch in AD 19. Unfortunately, when Germanicus' wife, Agrippina, returned to Rome she became entangled in a bitter feud with Tiberius that resulted in the extermination of the entire family of Germanicus - all except for Caligula. He went on to succeed Tiberius as emperor in AD 37. Germanicus no doubt appears on this issue to take advantage of the popularity that Caligula's dead father still had with the Roman public, thereby subtly distancing himself from the memory of Tiberius, who had become unpopular if not actually hated by many over the course of his reign.
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| Realized $6,169 |
