Claudius I (AD 41-54), with Agrippina Junior. AV aureus (18mm, 7.58 gm, 5h). NGC Choice VF 4/5 - 3/5. Rome or Lugdunum, AD 50-54. TI•CLAVD•CAESAR•AVG•GERM•P•M•TRIB•POT•P•P•, laureate head of Claudius I right / AGRIPPINAE-AVGVSTAE, draped bust of Agrippina Junior right, seen from front, hair in long queue and laureate wreathed with grain ears. RIC I 80. Calicó 396a. von Kaenel Type 50, 790.952 (V673/R691–this coin). Two exceptionally attractive portraits on bright surfaces. From the WTR Collection. Ex Provence Collection (Classical Numismatic Group, Auction 114, 13 May 2020), lot 748; Chabenat Collection (Part II, Bourgey 9, 14 December 1911), lot 343 As emperor, Claudius proved to be a dutiful and competent administrator, but he was undone by his atrocious taste in women. Messalina, his promiscuous third wife, ran wild as empress and nearly brought down his regime in AD 48. His next wife, Agrippina the Younger, 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. Agrippina was given extraordinary prominence on the coinage during Claudius' reign, as evidenced by this aureus.

HID09801242017

© 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

To the auctioneer's website