★ Claudius with Agrippina Jr. Aureus ★

Claudius (41-54) with the wife Agrippina Junior. AV Aureus. Rome mint, c. 50-54 AD. Obv. TI CLAVD CAESAR AVG GERM P M TRIB POT P P. Laureate head of Claudius right. Rev. AGRIPPINAE AVGVSTAE. Draped bust of Agrippina right, wreathed in grain ears. RIC I (2nd ed.) 80; C. 6; Calicó 396b. AV. 7.76 g. 19.5 mm. R. A superb example of this historically significant and fascinating issue. EF. Once installed in power, the supposedly oafish Claudius surprised everyone by ruling with intelligence and moderation. He erred only in his obsession with detail, his reliance on freedmen and cronies, and his atrocious taste in women. Messalina, his promiscuous third wife, ran wild as Empress and nearly brought down his regime with a sex-crazed conspiracy in AD 48. His next wife, Agrippina the Younger, depicted on the reverse of this aureus, used her wiles to enhance her own power and advance Nero, her son by a previous marriage, in the succession arrangements. This done, she fed Claudius a dish of poisoned mushrooms in October, AD 54 and brought his 13-year reign to an end. (Heritage 3015, 23304).