OTD: 41 CE, Gaius Caligula dies BaBigula & the ascen-dunce-y of the world's greatest born loser

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Ryro, Jan 24, 2021.

  1. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Yep, as you already know, 1,980 years ago some guards with a grudge off'd the promise of the people, Gaius "Caligula" Caesar:
    BBC-696x576.jpg
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    Caligula,
    37-41 AD., AS Rome mint.
    Av. bare head left
    Rv. Vesta seated left, holding patera
    quality is fine to very fine with a dark green patina, weight is 9,96gr.

    whom supposedly was a return to the greatness and splendor of his father, up for debate, Rome's greatest General. But truly Germanicus WAS one of Rome's greatest men:
    germanicus-afc308c5-6d43-4ae9-877e-836065c7ed4-resize-750.jpeg
    share7670208255356110135.png

    After the murder our new hero, by the most optimistic accounts, was shaking in his boots hiding behind a curtain when a praetorian guard found him.
    Later that day (or this day, I suppose), a man who's famous last words reported by several sources were, "I believe I've soiled myself", was whisked into the praetorian guards camp and proclaimed emperor:
    latest (1).jpg
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    Claudius
    Plated Wreath Denarius. 46-47 AD. Lugdunum mint. Obv: TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG P M TR P VI IMP XI legend with laureate bust righ. Rev: S P Q R / P P / OB C S in three lines within wreath. RIC 41; BMC 45; RSC 87; Sear 1848.2.03 grams.Property of a Middlesex gentleman.[No Reserve]
    Very fine; large fragment. Ex Timeline



    Post em if ya got em!
     
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  3. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    I'd say this provincial of Caligula from Carthago Nova is the ugliest rendition of an emperor in my collection:

    [​IMG]
    Caligula AD 37-41.
    Roman provincial Æ 28 mm, 11.17 gm.
    Carthago Nova, Spain, AD 37-38.
    Obv: C. CAESAR AVG. GERMANIC. IMP. P.M. TR.P. COS., laureate head of Caligula, r.
    Rev: CN. ATEL. FLAC. CN. POM. FLAC. II. VIR. Q.V.I.N.C., head of Salus r., SAL AVG across field.
    Refs: SGI 419; Heiss 272, 35; Cohen 247, 1; RPC 1, 185; SNG Cop 503.
     
  4. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Cool rarity! I know it says SAL, but could this be Salus as anybody?
    Such as my Julia as Salus:
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  5. Limes

    Limes Well-Known Member

    Ah yes, two of the most difficult emperors to get in silver if you're not a millionair.
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  6. Andres2

    Andres2 Well-Known Member

  7. Cucumbor

    Cucumbor Well-Known Member

    Here's a pitted, yet bearing a glossy patina, hence impossible to properly photograph Caligula :

    [​IMG]
    Caligula, As -
    C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT, bare head of Caligula left
    VESTA, Vesta seated left, SC in field
    10,96 gr
    Ref : RCV #1803, Cohen #27

    Followed by Germanicus :

    [​IMG]
    Germanicus, As - Posthumous issue of Caligula, in honour of his father (died AD 19)
    Rome mint, AD 37-38
    GERMANICVS CAESAR TI AVGVST F DIVI AVG N, Bare head of Germanicus left
    C CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS PON M TR POT around large SC
    10,64 gr
    Ref : RCV #1821, Cohen #1


    And Claudius :

    [​IMG]
    Claudius, Dupondius
    TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP, head left
    CERES AVGVSTA, Ceres, veiled and draped, seated left on ornamental throne, holding two corn-ears and a long torch, S C in exergue.
    11,20 gr
    Ref : RCV # 1855, RIC # 94

    Q
     
  8. gsimonel

    gsimonel Well-Known Member

    My Caligula is just an uglier specimen of the Vesta type that Cucumbor posted, so I'll skip that one. I haven't seen the archetypal Claudius as, so I'll add that along with a right-facing Germanicus:
    [​IMG]
    Germanicus
    Grandson of Augustus
    Bronze As
    Rome mint, A.D. 50-54
    Obv: GERMANICVS CAESAR TI AVG F DIVI AVG N
    Rev: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP PP, encircling SC
    RIC (Claudius) 106
    29mm, 10.5g.

    And my modest Claudius as:
    [​IMG]
    Claudius I
    Augustus, A.D. 41-54
    Bronze As
    Rome mint, A.D. 50-54
    Obv: TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP PP
    Rev: Helmeted Minerva with spear and shield facing right, between S and C
    RIC 116
    29mm, 10.8g
     
  9. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    You may see the female figure attributed to Caesonia but this is fanciful. David Vagi (Coinage and History of the Roman Empire. Vol. 1, Coinworld, 1999, p.148) explains:

    "The bust of Salus (health) on aes struck at Cathago Nova ... by Caligula is often misattributed as a representation of Caesonia. In fact, it was struck before they were wed, and it more likely is an allusion to Antonia, whose health was failing as she neared the end of her life."

    This one (from RPC online) has a better claim to being Caesonia, but even this is not without controversy. There are very few examples of this coin in existence, none of which have a clear obverse legend. In fact, the reading of RPC and the identification as Caesonia are rejected by N. Kokkinos, Antonia Augusta: Portrait of a Great Roman Lady (London, 2002), pp. 101-3, 265-7. He prefers Antonia.

    Capture.JPG
    Milonia Caesonia(?), AD 39-41.
    Roman provincial Æ 19, 5.77 g.
    Caesaraea Panias, Syria. Dated RY 5 of Agrippa I (AD 40-41).
    Obv: [ΚΑΙΣ]ΩΝΙΑ ΓΥΝΗ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ, Draped bust of Caesonia(?) left, wearing hair in long plait.
    Rev: ΔΡΟΥΣΙΛΛΑ ΘΥΓΑΤΡΙ ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ, Drusilla standing facing, head right, holding Nike and branch; LE in left field.
    Refs: RPC 4977; Meshorer 3 corr., Burnett 6.
     
  10. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    Caligula 4.jpg
    CALIGULA
    AR Denarius
    OBVERSE: C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT, bare head right
    REVERSE: DIVVS AVG PATER PATRIAE, radiate head of Divus Augustus right
    Struck at Lugdunum, 37/8AD
    3.5g, 18mm
    RIC I 10
     
  11. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Caligula AE23 Caesaraugusta, Spain / 2 ox team - a Latin language coin of a Colony Scipione et Montano II Vir
    'Restored' by polishing - This is rather the opposite of what we usually see with fields smoothed and details added. Here the rough details were worn away leaving rough fields below. I suspect this coin was a rough and ugly VF before it was worn down to its present state. People will differ on whether this was an improvement or just trading one dog for another. Certainly we all would prefer mint state originals but, sometimes, that is not realistic.
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  12. Roman Collector

    Roman Collector Well-Known Member

    I think it gives it a pleasant cameo appearance, more attractive than rough surfaces all over the thing.
     
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  13. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member


    You don’t have to be a millionaire to afford a denarius of Caligula. I spotted a couple at the 2020 Winter FUN show in the $5 to $6 thousand range from well-known dealers. They were sharp enough, but the surfaces had been worked on in a way that made them unappealing to me. They were not polished, just dull and flat looking.

    I ended up taking the “AS route” to fill that hole in my 12 caesars set.
     
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  14. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I suppose it is a matter of opinion but I consider the style of the AE coins more pleasing than that on the denarii. Of course I would like a portrait sestertius but what I have is an as
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    and the DIVO AVG temple sestertius.
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    I always found it interesting how the 'market' prefers the standard portrait type to this special issue while, a bit later, the special issues for the Colosseum under Titus far outweigh the portrait coins in demand. People want the portrait of the madman. The denarii look more insane than the AE. On the temple dedication sestertius, Caligula appears to be a good guy, Pietas even, and that is not the way he is remembered.
     
  15. Sulla80

    Sulla80 Well-Known Member

    Here's a coin from Caligula from Hispania Tarraconensis that hasn't made an appearance yet. Lots of variation in the legend on this coin (see RPC link). The poet Martial, born in Augusta Bilbilis when this coin was issued, writes of the region:

    "Fellow townsmen, born upon the steep slope of Augustan Bilbilis, which Salo [Jalón River] encompasses with its rapid waters, does the poetical glory of your bard afford you any pleasure? For my honour, and renown, and fame, are yours; nor does Verona, who would willingly number me among her sons, owe more to her tender Catullus."
    -Martial, 10.103, To his fellow townsmen of Bilbilis


    "… you, Licinianus, will behold the lofty Bilbilis, renowned for horses and arms, and Catus venerable with his locks of snow, and eased Vadavero with its broken cliffs, and the sweet grove of delicious Botrodus, which the happy Pomona loves..."
    - Martial, 1.49, To Licinianus

    upload_2021-1-24_8-22-43.png
    Image derived using a map by Augusta 89, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons and a static image from Google maps.


    A view of the archeological site:
    upload_2021-1-24_8-46-25.png
    Source: Berrozpe, L., Preciado, C., Manuel, M. (2011) Pictorical Novelties in Municipium Augusta Bilbilis: CIV Building

    and the coin :
    Caligula Bilbilis AE.jpg
    Hispania Tarraconensis, Augusta Bilbilis, Gaius (Caligula), AD 37-41, AE, C. Corn. Refec. and M. Helv. Fronto, duoviri
    Obv: G CAESAR AVG GERMANICVS IMP R, Laureate head right
    Rev: MVN AVG BILBIL C CORN REFEC M HELV FRONT, Legend around oak wreath containing II VIR
    Ref: RPC I 400
    Note: Under Augustus, the city was given the status of Municipium becoming Augusta Bilbilis which gave the inhabitants privileges that included rights of Roman citizenship.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2021
  16. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Gaius Caligula - SINISTER!

    [​IMG]
    RI Gaius Caligula AE As 37-41 CE Vesta seated S-C Sinister Left


    Germanicus

    [​IMG]
    RI Germanicus Caesar died 10 October 19 CE Copper As 27mm struck under Caligula- S-C RIC I 35 BMCRE I 49 Left


    CLAUDIUS

    [​IMG]
    RI Claudius 41-54 Ae As 28mm LIBERTAS AVGVSTA holding pileus S-C RIC 113
     
  17. Julius Germanicus

    Julius Germanicus Well-Known Member

    Caligula certainly had an almost superhuman pedigree, the most promising of any Roman emperor.

    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-24 um 15.21.14.png


    His father: Germanicus, the hope of the Empire.

    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-24 um 15.22.09.png

    His mother: Agrippina, the granddaughter of Augustus.

    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-24 um 15.21.57.png


    His grandfather, Marcus Agrippa, genius general and administrator.

    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-24 um 15.38.03.png

    His other grandfather: Nero Claudius Drusus, the popular adoptive son of Augustus.

    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-24 um 15.21.46.png
    His grandmother: Antonia, daughter of Marcus Antonius.

    Bildschirmfoto 2021-01-24 um 15.21.33.png
     
  18. Mammothtooth

    Mammothtooth Stand up Philosopher, Vodka Taster

    Very nicely done, Always liked Germanicus, except for his vengeance on the Arminius folk..
     
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  19. svessien

    svessien Senior Member

    Oh, those two emperors have been my headache for a decade.
    I’ve had them for a long time in AE, two nice coins, I think:

    Sear 1803 Caligula.JPG
    Sear 1859 Claudius as.jpeg

    Probably the two most availible types of the two.
    Well, I haven’t been very quiet about last years purchases here, but let’s go:

    Caligula.jpg
    Claudius.jpg
     
  20. Mammothtooth

    Mammothtooth Stand up Philosopher, Vodka Taster

  21. Spaniard

    Spaniard Well-Known Member

    Some lovely coins!.....Yet to snag one of the infamous shell collector!
     
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