New Claudius As With Libertas Reverse (show yours)

I am not altogether happy with these photos, they fail to capture the appearance of the coin in hand, but I guess they will no for now.

This is a As of Claudius Caesar issued in AD 42 at the Rome Mint. It is ex. William B. Porter Collection and is listed as RIC I 113, SR-1860. It has a weight of 10.2g and is 30.5mm in diameter.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I also have this example of the same type that I purchased at a FUN show in about 2005. This one is 10.2g and is 30mm in diameter.

 

@Aethelred they look like an obverse die match in the photos. What do you think? Your new coin is nice and interesting.

 

I like your new coin and your pictures (particularly the reverse shot-- nice!). Very colorful

 

Congrats on the cool OP-Claudius, Aethelred

Ummm, this is my only Claudius example

 

Would anyone like to comment on the "meaning" of the reverse? If it meant "The freedom of the Empress," or something like that, we'd expect "Libertas Augustae." Is Augusta a title here for the personification? Like "Lady Liberty"? And what does "Libertas" mean, exactly, in imperial Rome?

I'm asking because the reverse seems deceptively simple. "It's celebrating liberty," one might say. But once one presses the issue of the exact meaning of the legend, and even the contextual limits of "liberty" in the first-century, to me the reverse doesn't seem so self-evident.

 

@Bing I thought about that the other night and decided they were not a match, but upon revisiting that issue, I cannot find a difference between the two. I'll allow smarter minds than mine to weigh in on that topic.

 

From Numiswiki:
This legend and type appear on a second brass of Claudius, as if he had restored liberty to the republic after Caligula ('s) tyranny and oppression.

 

I too have this Claudius as, RIC 113, but my obverse portrait makes Claudius look as if he's had one too many Red Bulls:

 

My word, Ides, that coin looks like it was struck 20 minutes ago.

 

@stevex6

There is a special place in my heart for the Claudius/Minerva type. I'm hunting a nice example right now.

 

That is a stunner @IdesOfMarch01

 

Not smarter but I enjoy piddling around in Photoshop

At a glance the obverses look quite similar but once you spot check a few of the usual comparison locations it's easy to see they're not the same.

 

I think I've posted them not long ago, but here are mine again @Aethelred(not Libertas though)


Here are two middle bronzes of Claudius, one is official, and the other most probably from a spanish mint, but still with a great style (very much looks like Nero Claudius Drusus to my eyes)


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



Claudius, As produced at a "branch mint", AD 41-42
TI CLAVDIVS CAESAR AVG P M TR P IMP, Bare head of Claudius left
CONSTANTIAE AVGVSTI, Constantia helmeted standing left holding spear, SC in field
10,84 gr
Ref : RCV #1857, Cohen #14
For better understanding of where this might have been minted, see : http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=65318.0

Q

 

Good work @TIF

 

Not quite. It was struck 20 minutes before an ancient collector walked into the mint, selected the best coin struck from recent dies, and walked out with it cradled in cotton gloves. Then he or she, thoughtfully thinking of the distant future, carefully placed it in a pot underground and abandoned it so it could be found almost 2000 years later and added to the IoM collection. The wonderful patina proves it was not struck twenty minutes ago.

 

nice! good work TIFF, i have the Minerva reverse As (listen while i play..my green tambourine)

 

Good detail and nice patina Aethelred, I have to re shoot this photo of Claudius, Minerva as cropped a bit of obverse at top.