Roman Silver & Bronze - Imperial - Augustus- Commodus

Lot 2791    SESSION 12 (11.30AM THURSDAY 25TH NOV)    Roman Silver & Bronze - Imperial - Augustus- Commodus

Estimate $500
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $850

GAIUS (CALIGULA), with Germanicus, (37-41 A.D.), silver denarius (3.04 g), Lugdunum (Lyon) mint, struck in 37 A.D. obv. around C CAESAR AVG GERM P M TR POT, bare head of Gaius (Caligula) to right, rev. GERMANICVS CAES P C [CAES AVG] GERM, bare head of Germanicus to right, (S.1815, RIC I 12, cf.Lyon 165, RSC 2, BMC 19, BN 15-16). Nearly fine, toned and rare.

Ex Dr L.J. Sherwin Collection, from CNG eSale 172, September 5, 2007, (lot 172), from the John A. Seeger Collection.
The accession of Gaius (Caligula) to the imperial throne on the death of his great-uncle Tiberius signalled a kind of "golden age" in that for the first time, not only did a direct biological descendant of Augustus become emperor, but one who could also claim a direct link with several important Republican figures. Through his mother, Agrippina Sr., Gaius was descended from Augustus, and also Agrippa, the victor of Actium. Gaius' father Germanicus was the son of Nero Claudius Drusus and nephew of Tiberius, sons of Augustus' widow, Livia. Through his mother Antonia, Germanicus was the grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia, the sister of Augustus. Accordingly, many of his coins recall his dynastic connections to both the Julians and the Claudians as well as his own family, and included in their designs his mother and his three sisters. (Courtesy CNG)