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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 2821498, member: 81887&quot;]Here&#039;s my latest acquisition from Ancient Imports:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]662546[/ATTACH] </p><p>Roman Empire, Rome mint.&nbsp; AE dupondius (26mm, 9.47g).&nbsp; Antonia, struck under Claudius (41-54 AD).&nbsp; Obverse: Bust of Antonia right, ANTONIA [AVGVSTA] around.&nbsp; Reverse: Claudius standing togate and veiled, holding simpulum, [TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG PM TRP IMP] around, SC to sides.&nbsp; RIC (Claudius) 92. </p><p><br /></p><p>Antonia Minor, often called simply Antonia, was at the center of the complicated Julio-Claudian family tree.&nbsp; Just to list her most important connections: she was the daughter of Marc Antony, niece of Augustus, sister-in-law of Tiberius, mother of Claudius, grandmother of Caligula, and both great-grandmother and great-aunt of Nero.&nbsp; She was born in 36 BC, the younger of two daughters of Marc Antony and Octavia.&nbsp; Unfortunately her father ran off with Cleopatra, divorcing his (no longer politically useful) wife and abandoning his children.&nbsp; She grew up raised by her mother, as well as her uncle and aunt (Augustus and Livia).&nbsp; The subsequent intrigues among the family are fascinating and very complicated; if you want to know more, watch the 1970s BBC adaptation of &quot;I, Claudius&quot;, or better yet, read Robert Graves&#039; book.&nbsp; Antonia managed until 37 AD, when she had a falling-out with her grandson Caligula, who had recently ascended to the throne.&nbsp; She ultimately took her own life at age 73, though Suetonius says that Caligula may also have tried to poison her.&nbsp; When her son Claudius&nbsp; became emperor in 41 AD, he had her posthumously declared Augusta, and paid her many honors, including issuing coinage in her name.&nbsp; Based on her portrait, she was probably never a great beauty, but she does have the strong, dignified countenance of a survivor.</p><p><br /></p><p>I bought this coin from Ancient Imports (Marc Breitsprecher) for $85.&nbsp; I think it is a good example of how a coin with considerable wear can still have an appealing look.&nbsp; This coin was sold as an as, although RIC and other sources seem to indicate that the type was only used on a dupondius.&nbsp; Normally the dupondius was struck in a brassy alloy (orichalcum) rather than the red copper of the as.&nbsp; Since this coin looks coppery and not at all brassy, it does seem more like an as.&nbsp; Unfortunately, the two denominations are of roughly the same weight, so we can&#039;t use that to decide, and a radiate crown was only used on dupondii of emperors, not other family members.&nbsp; I will probably catalogue it as a dupondius, unless I can find convincing evidence to the contrary.&nbsp; Please share your coins of Antonia, or anything else relevant.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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